Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has seen a fall in iPhone sales for their second quarter, suggesting many customers are holding off purchases until the release of the 10th-anniversary edition anticipated for September.
Whilst analysts predicted iPhone sales of 52.27 million, Apple shifted 50.8 million iPhones in the second quarter of 2017, down from 51.2 million shipped in the second quarter of 2016.
“We are proud to report a strong March quarter, with revenue growth accelerating from the December quarter and continued robust demand for iPhone 7 Plus,” said Tim Cook.
Apple reported a 4.6 percent rise in revenue to $52.9 billion. This was less than the $53.02 billion estimate and led to the stock sliding by 1.5 in the after-hours trading.
Clement Thibault, Senior Analyst at Investing.com said: “This is a very mixed report for Apple in terms of results. Apple sold less iPhones than it did a year ago, but the possibility of consumers holding out until the new iPhone release is very real, especially when the upgrade is rumoured to be more meaningful than in previous years,”
iPad sales are also in decline for another year. Mac sales rose from 4 million last year to 4.2 million. Revenue grew by 14 percent.
Investors hope that the 10 year anniversary of the iPhone will lead to a surge in sales.
“There is a general softening in phone demand to contend with as well as expectations of a big upgrade, all of which softens the blow of this quarter’s miss,” said James McQuivey, a Forrester Research analyst.
“If we see Apple downplaying expectations before the next upgrade cycle, it might mean that the company isn’t confident it will beat those expectations.”
The new 10-year anniversary iPhone are expected to include features such as wireless charging, 3-D facial recognition as well as a curved display.