Even before the launch of Apple TV Plus this Friday, the division to which it will belong continues to grow in importance to the company.
Apple just announced its quarterly earnings for the last three months and, while iPhone revenue has once again fallen off (9%) year-on-year, the services division is up 18%.
The company brought in $12.5 billion in services revenue during the last three months, likely buoyed by the launch of Apple News+ and Apple Arcade. That number is likely to balloon further when the company drops its $4.99 a month video streaming service on November 1 (after the free trials end, of course).
There was more good news when it comes to Apple’s wearables division which rose 54% on last year’s figures. That’s likely to be down to the launch of the second-gen AirPods and PowerBeats Pro, as well as the new Apple Watch Series 5. Again, more good news is likely to follow with AirPods Pro now on sale.
Apple brought in a total of $64 billion in revenue during the last three months, which amounts to the best Q4 in the storied history of the company. That also beat expectations, leading to a post-trading rise in shares of around 2%.
Related: Apple TV Plus
But what are we to make of those falling iPhone sales? Apple has been dealing with the drop-off of its flagship product for a consistent period of time now, which is why the firm is working so hard on expanding its Services and Wearables divisions.
This quarter only accounts for ten days of iPhone 11 sales, so that doesn’t necessarily represent a disappointing launch. In fact, Apple CEO Tim Cook says iPhone 11 sales are off to a “very, very good start,” thanks largely to the lower starting price, compared to last year’s iPhone XR.
Cook told Reuters: “The starting price of $699 is a factor in bringing more people into the market and giving people just another reason to upgrade. In China specifically… we picked locally relevant price points that were more similar to the price points that we had great success with earlier.”
Apple hopes a newly-announced Apple Card promotion will also help more users jump on board with new iPhone hardware. From later this year, the company will offer Apple Card holders an interest- and fee-free instalment plan for a new iPhone, which will also include 3% in cash back.
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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.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
