Technology giant Apple on Tuesday announced a slowdown in the sale of its top-selling product, the iPhone. According to the company, the sales are flatlining – they sold 74.8 million iPhones in the last quarter of 2015 as against 74.5 million they had sold in the same period last year. The iPhone accounts for approximately 68% of the company’s revenues, so the news that it has not grown much this year is worrying some investors as it could have wide-reaching impacts on the American stock market.
While the company posted record revenues of $75.9 billion (Rs 5.15 lakh crore) and record profits of $18.4 billion (Rs 1.24 lakh crore) over the last quarter, it said that revenues would fall in the next quarter. However, its CEO Tim Cook allayed fears, saying “Our financial position has never been stronger” and that Apple had “the mother of all balance sheets”.
Sales for Apple’s iPad also fell sharply in the previous quarter – 16.1 million as against 21.4 million last year. However, sales are picking for the Apple Watch as well as the company’s other services including Apple Pay and Apple TV, The Guardian reported. Research firm Gartner has said that worldwide smartphone sales have declined to their lowest since 2013.
While iPhone sales remain static in some markets including China's, Apple is looking towards the Indian market for a boost in their sales. Cook said the company is putting more energy in India and that the demographic is "incredibly great for a consumer brand". The phones' sales in India grew 76% between 2014 and 2015.
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