
After literally years of analysts claiming that we’ve reached ‘peak iPhone’ – that Apple’s year-on-year growth had gone as far as it could go – that day has finally arrived. iPhone sales last quarter were essentially flat (up just 0.4% year-on-year), and the company yesterday forecast that this quarter will see its first ever year-on-year decline in revenue since 2003.
If Apple hits the midpoint of its projected revenue for the current quarter, it will suffer a year-on-year fall in income of 11%. For the first time in 13 years, the ‘Apple is doomed’ merchants can cite real-life numbers as support for their position.
The reality, of course, is far more nuanced. There are some very specific reasons why the current quarter will be such a tough one, and why ‘peak iPhone’ is likely to be temporary, and I’ll get to those in a moment. But there’s also a bigger picture that suggests that Apple may have to be willing to think the unthinkable when it comes to the huge margins it has been able to enjoy to date …
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