Record revenue for Apple as iPhone sales dip

Apple announced that it had sold 74.8 million iPhones in the first quarter ending 26 December, 2015. But Tuesday’s forecast implies Apple doesn’t expect to match the 61 million iPhones sold in last year’s January-March quarter. According to CNET, this would be Apple’s first year-over-year quarterly decline in a decade.

The news was preceded by weeks of dark predictions, with media reports claiming Apple had cut manufacturing orders from the companies that build the iPhone because inventory of the smartphone was backing up in retail channels.

Apple did reveal that 1 billion devices (across all of its products, not just iOS products, including Mac PCs and Apple TV) have been connected to its services in the last 90 days.

Apple has introduced new gadgets like a larger iPad for business users and the Apple Watch, along with new online services like Apple Pay, Apple Music and other apps. Even if that does not apply in this case, Apple still sold more phones in the last three months than at any period in its history. It generated a whopping fourth-quarter profit of $18.4 billion, a 2 percent increase from a year earlier, and a staggering $216 billion in cash. Apple also declared an upcoming dividend payment of $0.52 per share, payable on February 11 to shareholders of record as of February 8. It puts all the more pressure on Apple to deliver with the iPhone 7, however, before investors start getting really antsy.

“We expanded distribution of Apple Watch to nearly 12,000 locations in 48 countries during the quarter”, Apple CEO Tim Cook said during the company earnings call.

In supplemental materials, Apple explains that currency headwinds have cost the company 15 percent in earnings over the past 18 months.

Elsewhere, iPad sales hit 16.1 million, thanks to the launch of the iPad Pro.

Past year in Q1 Apple managed a record-breaking quarterly profit of $18 on $74.60 revenue, and beating that figure keeps the company fixed to the tech throne.

That being said, Apple’s numbers are still every bit as staggering as they’ve been for a while now, and we all knew the increase in iPhone sales would stall eventually.