Continuing the discussion from Good Reads for October, 2019:
Didn’t quite make Good Reads, but is still a Good Read.
If you paid attention to Apple’s latest financials, you would have seen something extraordinary. Apple continues to make more money than you can imagine, set a new record for Q4 revenue, but the iPhone continues to fall YoY, now accounting for just 52% of Apple’s quarterly revenue.
It’s this last point I want to focus on, because it means Apple is no longer just the iPhone company. Pretty much every other revenue stream is up YoY — services are up by 20%, iPads are up by 17%, and wearables/other are up by 50%. The Mac is down by 5% YoY, but Mac revenue remains stable, so it’s not really worth talking about.
What does this mean? Well, it means Apple is no longer just the iPhone company. Sure, it still made up the majority of Apple’s revenue last quarter. But only just!
David Sparks says it better:
For years, Apple was focused entirely on the iPhone. They couldn’t make the iPad better because the iPhone was their meal ticket, and all focus had to be on the iPhone. While the iPhone blasted off like a rocket ship, all other things Apple suffered.
It remains to be seen how much more diversification Apple will do. Apple CEO Tim Cook still seems to think that Apple will be remembered for its impact on health (as per the latest financial results conference call) so maybe that’s where Apple is headed next. And while I’m all for Apple working on things other than the iPhone, I just hope that they don’t lose sight of the many reasons that make Apple hardware and software insanely great.