Apple’s dominance begins to waver as quarterly report shows underwhelming iPhone sales

Apple does not report its Watch sales, but the device does not appear to have the makings of being a hit on the same level as the iPhone a year after launch.

The Economic Times reported that Apple India reshuffled its top management in India. The company’s stock price dipped 2.70 per cent, dropping to $97.2, in after-hours trading. Apple Pay has seen 10-times higher growth rate in the second half of 2015, and has partnered with Exxon Mobile to deliver its services to over five million gas stations.

The tablet line saw revenues drop by 21 per cent at $7bn, compared to $8.9bn the year-ago quarter. iPad shipments of 16.1 million units were down from 21.4 million units last year.

The California technology colossus said it expects to see its first decline in iPhone sales in the current quarter, when it will be compared to three months of blockbuster sales in the same period previous year.

When Apple launched the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus back in September, many expected massive changes in the features.

The iPhone continues to be Apple’s star product.

Cooks comments come a week after the Indian government confirmed it had received an application to open its own stores in India, both for offline and online channels.

Of those likely to buy a phone, 15 per cent are now looking to upgrade and 17 per cent will when the next iPhone is released. They were down by just about 2.6 percent as against the previous 5 percent.

“We have become more and more of a platform company”, Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri told The Associated Press. “We generated operating cash flow of $27.5 billion during the quarter, and returned over $9 billion to investors through share repurchases and dividends”.

Out of the total revenue of $75.87 billion reported by Apple, Inc. during Q1 2016, the major share in revenue was of America’s at $29.32 billion.

Sales of the smartphones grew by less than 1% with 74.8 million in the first quarter – the lowest percentage since iPhones debuted in 2007.

Sales of iPhones accounted for 68% of the company’s revenue in the period. Revenue from the region had almost doubled in the fourth quarter. However, the company still boasts an impressive profit of $18,4-billion. Analysts polled by S&P Capital forecast revenue of $76.5 billion, or $3.22 a share.

Apple’s overall performance was “slightly better than feared”, said Ives at FBR.

Investors believe years of extraordinary growth under co-founder Steve Jobs and then Cook that made Apple the most valuable publically-traded technology company in the world could be waning. The iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus jointly serve as successors to the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus of 2014. Apple CEO Tim Cook struck a more optimistic note, saying the company was “increasingly putting more energy” into India, citing a largely youthful population with rising disposable income as more people join the workforce.