CEO Tim Cook revealed that “staggering” demand for iPhones in the last quarter of 2014 led to 74.5 million sales in the three months before December 27. This led to a 5 percent increase in the value of Apple shares after the US markets closed.
Cult of Mac editor Buster Hein spoke to the BBC and expressed sentiments similar to other analysts, saying “A lot of us were expecting good iPhone sales during the holidays, but I don’t think anybody really thought Apple was going to blow past 70 million units sold.”
iPad sales continued to fall however. The company shifted 22 percent fewer units as the device falls in popularity admits stiff competition from cheaper Android products and the allure of Microsoft’s Surface to the business and power user.
The company reported record sales in China, becoming the number one brand in the Asian superpower. Sales hit $16billion during 2014, representing a 70 percent increase from 2013. More iPhones were sold to China in the last quarter than the US, showing the appeal of the device over there.
The issue now is to see how long Apple can continue to sustain this extraordinary performance. Eyes are now looking at the Apple Watch with its April launch but it remains to be seen if the company can win over consumers with its tiny, expensive watch in the same way it did with the iPhone. With the largest quarterly profit in history and nearly 75 million iPhone sales, Apple certainly still has a strong hold on the market right now however, despite concerns that the appeal of the brand may be fading.
