This Mac thing really is here to stay. Yesterday, Apple announced that it sold 2.16 million Macs in the quarter ending Sept. 30, 400,000 more than its previous best. Much of the growth can likely be attributed to a strong portable line and the launch of a new line of iMacs.
In case anyone was still worried that the iPhone wasn’t as big a hit as expected, worry no more. Apple sold more than 1.1 million of the devices from July 1 to Sept. 30, bringing the sales total to 1.4 million since its late June launch, the company announced at its quarterly earnings call. It was a booming set of months, all told. Apple pulled in revenues $6.22 billion in Q4, with $904 million in profit. The profit increase represents bottom-line growth of more than 67 percent from the year before.
Less rosy, at least in terms of Apple’s relationship with its customers and its business partners, is that COO Tim Cook estimates that up to 250,000 of those iPhones were purchased with the intent to unlock and use on other networks. That can’t please AT&T, and we all know how customers feel about bricked phones.
All in all, an unbelievable quarter for Apple — and they’re forecasting $9.2 billion for the December holiday period. Insane. I still can’t believe my parents decided not to get in on AAPL stock in 1996 when it was under $10 a share…
Pete Mortensen is a design strategist for consulting firm Jump Associates and the co-author of Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, a book and blog that are significantly more interesting than you might initially think. Pete’s particular Apple avocations are both around design–interface and industrial. Follow him on Twitter!
