Last night, Apple presented the financial results corresponding to the last quarter of 2022, where the decline in iPhone sales stood out, and with them the revenue of the hardware division, which drags down the rest of the divisions in a company so dependent on its mobile phones. Earnings per share of $1.88 missed analysts’ expectations This happened for the first time since 2016.

Apple’s sales fell 5% in the Christmas quarter and were reproduced in all global regions and departments with two big exceptions, sales of iPad tablets (+30%) and the services category, which continues to grow with the App Store at the forefront (+6%) , though it can’t offset hardware declines in such quarters.

Macs performed the worst of Apple’s lineup year-on-year decrease in sales by 29%. As we’ll see below about the iPhone, it has to be said that Macs had an explosion in sales in the previous years of the pandemic. For the wearables group, which includes products like the Apple Watch and AirPods, sales also fell 8%.

Apple CEO Tim Cook highlighted several reasons such as supply chain disruptions in Asia as well as the strength of the US dollar to explain the results, which – if negative – cannot even be considered “bad” considering that the company’s revenues amounted to 117,200 million dollars. Numbers unattainable by any other technology.

Falling iPhone sales: should the industry be worried?

Global smartphone sales around the world fell last year, even according to forecasts they will do it again in 2023. And even Apple can’t get rid of it. In addition to the delicate macroeconomic situation and the production chain that has not yet fully normalized after the pandemic, there are more concrete reasons for the smartphone sector.

And it’s because users simply don’t see the need to change their mobile phone and put up with it much more than before. In the case of Apple, after two consecutive years of strong sales of the 12 and 13 series, it is normal that the iPhone 14 sells more slowly.

The rate of innovation in mobile is minimal and apart from the folding ones, there are no models that offer anything significantly different to be updated so regularly. We’ve seen this with the iPhone 14, as well as its main competitors, the recent Galaxy S23 from Samsung, which don’t provide substantial news about the S22. And what can I tell you that you don’t know about the prices… They have gone up and in the high line are the top line configurations they are insanely priced.

In total. It cannot always be uploaded and as with other technological products we face a seasonal break in mobile salesmomentum may need to be regained in the following years.

Specified by Apple, it hit $65.8 billion in mobile sales alone… in just one quarter. Staggering numbers for any other manufacturer. In addition, it surpassed the global iPhone ecosystem for the first time 2 billion devices in use which provides a lot of additional revenue in services such as the App Store. And another not insignificant detail. Apple is the only major tech company not to announce job cuts this year. Yes, iPhone sales and global revenue and profit are down, but Apple is still very strong.