How do you deal with the news that sales of your flagship product are slowing dramatically? If you’re Apple, you announce that you’ve sold one billion of them.
Following Tuesday’s earnings call, which revealed a significant stagnation of iPhone sales, CEO Tim Cook announced the astonishing landmark at a staff meeting on Wednesday.
Cook said Apple had set out to make the best phone, rather than sell the most, but also thanked his staff for “helping change the world.”
At the employee meeting at the firm’s Cupertino, HQ, Cook said: “iPhone has become one of the most important, world-changing and successful products in history. It’s become more than a constant companion. iPhone is truly an essential part of our daily life and enables much of what we do throughout the day.
“Last week we passed another major milestone when we sold the billionth iPhone. We never set out to make the most, but we’ve always set out to make the best products that make a difference. Thank you to everyone at Apple for helping change the world every day.”
The landmark is quite the achievement for Apple, which has been selling the iPhone since 2008.
Sales peaked in 2015, but the seemingly never-ending stretch of growth has come to an end amid lower demand for upgrades and the slowing of the Chinese market.
Apple is hoping to change that with the iPhone 7 release later this year, but has forecast a relatively flat next quarter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
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