We’ve got our hands on the latest Apple Q1 2024 financial report, showing that while quarterly revenue is up 2%, the rise of Huawei is taking a bite from the iPhone manufacturer’s sales in China. Meanwhile, Apple services continue to improve, though there’s uncertainty about how much further that part of the business can grow.
In the announcement, Apple kept it brief, though the full conference call (via MacRumors) revealed far more details about the business. While marginal improvements in iPhone and Mac sales look promising, a 25% drop in iPad sales year over year is quite a dramatic decline. iPad only made up 5.9% of Apple’s revenue in Q1 2024, but it’s still a big chunk to lose.
There was also an 11% drop in revenue from wearables, home tech, and accessories, further compounding Apple’s reliance on iPhone – making up 58% of the company’s revenue this quarter. The recent Apple Watch 2024 update rumors suggesting some the company might have to axe some features shows how muddy things might be for the Cupertino company ahead of the release of the iPhone 16 later this year.
While there may be concerning signs for the future of iPhone sales, too, this tidbit from CFO Luca Maestri shows how powerful a product it still is: “According to a survey from Cantar, iPhones were four out of the top five models in the US and Japan, four out of the top six models in urban China and the UK, and all top five models in Australia.”
The primary decrease in sales comes in China, down double-digits, aligning with a recent iPhone 16 sales analysis. This change seems due to Huawei making a comeback after a few fallow years, plus high-end consumer preferences leaning more towards foldables – a market Apple is yet to enter.
Beyond the dry financial results, there was also some interesting info about Apple’s AI plans: “As we look ahead, we will continue to invest in these and other technologies that will shape the future,” CEO Tim Cook said. “That includes artificial intelligence, where we continue to spend a tremendous amount of time and effort, and we’re excited to share the details of our ongoing work in that space later this year.”
In the Q&A at the end of the call, Cook was pushed for more details, replying, “In terms of generative AI, which I would guess is your focus, we have a lot of work going on internally, as I’ve alluded to before. Our MO, if you will, has always been to do work and then talk about work and not to get out in front of ourselves. And so we’re going to hold that to this as well. But, we’ve got some things that we’re incredibly excited about that we’ll be talking about later this year.”
So, Cook is keeping things close to the chest as usual – but these tidbits are enough to get excited about. For more tech, check out our picks for the best Samsung phones, the best OnePlus phones, and the best portable gaming consoles.