sales - page 3

Apple could confirm major iPhone milestone this week

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money
Apple may announce billionth iPhone sold during tomorrow's earnings call.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Nobody’s expecting big things from Apple’s quarterly earnings call this Tuesday, but it is possible that we’ll hear one incredibly significant metric announced at the event: Apple’s sale of its billionth iPhone.

While it is likely that iPhone sales will continue to decline this quarter — with 40 million likely to be reported as the number for the past three months — the billionth sales mark would serve to underline once again just what an enormous success the iPhone has been for Apple.

Wearable shipments fall as Apple Watch gets long in the tooth

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Ugreen's magnetic charging station for the Apple Watch.
When Apple Watch shipments fall, the industry feels it.
Photo: Lyle Kahney/Cult of Mac

Wearable shipments fell for the first time ever last quarter, and it’s all thanks to declining interest in an aging Apple Watch. Smartwatch vendors shipped just 3.5 million units during Q2 2016, down from 5.1 million units over the same quarter last year.

iPhone shipments will get worse before they get better

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iPhone 6 Plus_7
Apple will have to wait until next year for iPhone growth to return.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple is confident the iPhone will bounce back from its current slump in demand, but new forecasts suggest shipments will get worse before they get better. Researchers don’t expect growth to return until 2017 when Apple introduces bigger upgrades.

Is it time for Apple to ditch the MacBook Air? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Isn't the MacBook Air too good to go?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Apple could be about to kill its most popular notebook. According to reliable KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the company is planning to ditch the MacBook Air and add a 13-inch MacBook to its lineup as a replacement.

FNF-bugThe original ultraportable is starting to look a little long in the tooth. Having gone without an update for over a year, it is Apple’s only laptop without a Retina display, a Force Touch trackpad, and Thunderbolt 3 connectivity.

But is it really time to let it go, or does it just need a refresh? Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over whether the MacBook Air has a place in Apple’s future.

Should Apple kill off iTunes music downloads? [Friday Night Fights]

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fnf
Are you ready for a world without music downloads?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iTunes music downloads still rake in millions of dollars every quarter for Apple, but they’re falling fast.

FNF-bugAccording to sources who claim to be actively working with the company, it is already mulling the idea of chopping music sales completely in as little as two years, and instead placing an even greater focus on Apple Music.

Is it a good idea for Apple to boot such a popular service in the same way it massacred floppy discs and FireWire, forcing users to stream all their music? Or should it keep iTunes alive until downloads die out naturally?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight as we battle it out over the future of the world’s most popular music store.

Weak iPhone demand punishes Apple suppliers

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iPhone 6 Plus
Apple isn't the only one suffering due to weak iPhone sales.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

Weak demand for the iPhone is causing earnings to fall for a number of suppliers in Asia, and few of them are hopeful that the situation is going to change.

Foxconn, the biggest assembly partner for the iPhone, saw its profit fall 9.2 percent last quarter, while Pegatron’s nosedived a whopping 35.1 percent.

Apple might pull the plug on iTunes music downloads

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Apple might start signing artists to contracts, in order to compete with the likes of Spotify. Photo: iTunes/Apple
Are iTunes Store's days numbered?
Photo: Apple

Update: Apple is denying a report that it plans to stop selling downloads within the next few years. “Not true,” Apple rep Tom Neumayr told Re/code Wednesday afternoon without elaborating.

Apple is planning to give iTunes music downloads the boot in as little as two years, according to sources currently working with the company.

With sales already falling, Apple will instead focus its efforts on persuading fans to stream tracks and albums through Apple Music.

Microsoft more profitable than Apple at $1 trillion milestone

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Windows 10 Mobile
Lumia's failure hasn't hit Microsoft too hard... yet.
Photo: Microsoft

Apple may have quaffed all the champagne at the $1 trillion in revenue party before Microsoft even got its invite, but the Windows maker rocked up in a bigger limo.

Last quarter, Microsoft finally reached the major milestone that Apple celebrated back in 2015, and it currently boasts even more profit.

Samsung crushes Apple in smartphone shipments as iPhone plummets

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Samsung Galaxy
Look out, Apple!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac
Look out, Apple! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Android
Look out, Apple! Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Android

Samsung couldn’t have wished for a better start for the Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge.

Not only are sales shaping up to beat expectations, with an estimated 10 million sales during March alone, but according to the latest data, the new handsets helped Samsung crush Apple in smartphones shipments last quarter.

Should Apple deliver an ‘iPhone Pro’ in 2016? [Friday Night Fights]

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iPhone Pro
Or is it a terrible idea?
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

As Apple prepares to take on its first quarter of falling iPhone sales, we’re all wondering what it will do to prevent another one. Some sources say the Cupertino company has something special up its sleeve for this fall’s iPhone refresh.

Friday-Night-Fights-bug-2No, I’m not talking about the 4-inch iPhone SE; I’m referring to the rumored “iPhone Pro,” a second Plus-sized iPhone that will pack two rear-facing cameras and other nice new features aimed at professional photographers — and those who lust after Pro Apple products.

But would an iPhone Pro be a good idea? Would it boost iPhone sales and breathe new life into Apple’s smartphone lineup, or would it simply create confusion?

Join us in this week’s Friday Night Fight between Cult of Android and Cult of Mac as we bicker like schoolchildren over those questions and more!

Apple might cut iPhone 6s production by up to 30% this quarter

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iphone-6s-rose-gold
Is iPhone growth starting to stall?
Photo: Apple

Apple will be allegedly reducing orders of the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus to suppliers by as much as 30 percent this quarter. iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales are apparently considerably less than that of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus in the year-ago quarter. If this is true, it seems that Apple has been making too much supply for simply not enough demand.

Could Fitbit have had a better Christmas than Apple Watch?

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Fitbit may have had a better Christmas than Apple Watch.
Fitbit may have had a better Christmas than Apple Watch.
Photo: Fitbit

Although Fitbit may consider the Apple Watch a technical threat, Apple’s smartwatch didn’t seem to hamper Christmas sales any for the company: the market-leading activity tracker seems to have had a huge sales surge thanks to Christmas. Could Fitbit have outsold the Apple Watch this Holiday season?

The best and worst things to buy in December

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Charlie agrees: So many deals, so little time.
Charlie agrees: So many deals, so little time.
Photo: Thomas Cook/Wikimedia Commons CC

December is a month when most people can’t avoid shopping. You may have skipped Black Friday, but the holiday season is a different beast altogether, with gifts from loved ones, friends, and people you barely know coming at you from all angles.

Maintain lots of holiday cheer by shopping wisely with our December buying guide. We’ve pored over the extensive DealNews archives from years past to guide you in your quest for the most savvy purchases in December.

Apple passes the $1 billion sales mark in India

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india
India loves Apple products.
Illustration: Cult of Mac

Apple has crossed the $1 billion sales mark for its Indian operations for the first time, according to a filing with India’s Registrar of Companies (RoC) this week.

Apple saw 44 percent increase in sales for its most recent financial year, marking an overall doubling of Indian sales in the past two years — largely due to increased demand for the iPhone.

The astonishing rise of iPhone sales in one amazing chart

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Apple raked in the cash last quarter.
There's money to be made in iPhones. In case you didn't know.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

Ever wanted to see a chart depicting Apple’s perilous decline from the moment Tim Cook took over as CEO until now? Well, you’ll just have to keep on looking, because this particular infographic shows nothing of the sort.

Instead, this spectacular infographic visualizes the year-on-year growth of Apple’s iPhone business, from a “puny” 1.36 million units in 2007 to a whopping 231.22 million this year. Check it out below.

Maybe Apple Watch isn’t doomed after all

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Apple Watch is doing just fine, thank you.
Apple Watch is doing just fine, thank you.
Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

That Slice data? Totally misleading, says analyst Mark Hibben.

Instead, he says, Apple sold over 4.5 million Apple Watches in two months of the June fiscal quarter. That’s way more than the 1 million units of the original iPhone Apple sold when it first launched in 2007.

“Apple Watch has a bright future,” writes Hibben, “despite what some market research polls might indicate. In its launch quarter, Watch will add about $2 billion in revenue to Apple’s top line.”

With numbers like that, even Apple can’t call the Apple Watch a hobby.

Apple could sell 320 million iOS devices in 2015

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Photo: Cult of Mac
Photo: Cult of Mac

Last year, despite the constant cries from naysayers that Cupertino had lost its edge, Apple blew past all expectations by shipping over 259.5 million iOS devices.

So how many iOS devices will Apple ship in 2015? According to one reputable industry analyst, a staggering 320 million iOS devices.

Maybe Apple killed off the iPod Classic too soon?

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Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

After years without updates, September 9th was a sad day for iPod fans: it marked the formal extinction of the iPod Classic, the last of Apple’s chunky, non-flash-based music players.

Three months after the last iPod Classic was sold through Apple.com, though? The iPod Classic is more in demand — and more expensive — than ever.

eBay moved $2 billion in Apple devices last year

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eBay is a paradise for Apple collectors. Photo:  Jeff Croft
eBay is a paradise for Apple collectors. Photo: Jeff Croft

Tim Cook told investors he’s happy with Apple’s trade-in program and other used iPhone sales, and it turns out so is eBay.

In the last 12 months nearly $2 billion worth of Apple devices, ranging from iPhones, iPads, and old Macs, have been sold on eBay’s store, according to data obtained by Computer World, and just like Apple’s own sales, the iPhone brought in most of a money on eBay too.

Skip The Apple Store And Get Deeper Discounts [Report]

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Customers might avoid this delightful eye-candy to save a few bucks.
Customers might avoid this delightful eye-candy to save a few bucks.

When you walk into an Apple Store — the minimalist design, the Macbook screens tilted just so, the approachable, encyclopedic sales staff — you might be forgiven for being a little bit speechless.

It’s not unlike walking into a Porsche or Mercedes dealership — you don’t expect to find bargain bins full of junk. The presentation is, in fact, as important as the product, and once inside, you’re going to hand over your money to get both.

Even though Apple stores have become tourist attractions in their own right where folks come from countries like Sweden and Brazil to purchase these great products at prices lower than at home, savvy customers might someday shun those stunning glass facades and signature spiral staircases for cheaper prices found elsewhere.

A new report by DealNews shows that Apple products are getting deeper discounts sooner in a product lifecycle than ever before, begging the question: is the Apple Store the best place to buy your gear?