What you need to know
- A Gartner report claims Apple's iPhone sales declined 10% in Q3 of 2019 compared to last year.
- The report says Apple sales promotions and discounts were not enough to stimulate global demand.
- Positive early adoption of the iPhone 11 range means there is still hope for the remaining quarter.
A Gartner report claims that Apple's iPhone sales fell by more than 10% in Q3 of 2019, compared to the same period last year.
According to the press release, global smartphone demand as a whole was described as "weak" during the third quarter of 2019, however, Huawei and Samsung were both able to increase their market share.
The report notes:
"For the majority of smartphone users, desire has shifted away from owning the least expensive smartphone. Today's smartphone user is opting for midtier smartphones over premium-tier ones because they offer better value for money,"
The report also states that many smartphone users are delaying their purchase decisions until 2020 because of 5G. With that in mind, the report claims that Apple sold 40.8 million units in Q3 2019, at 10.5% market share. In comparison, it reportedly shifted 45.7 million units in the same quarter last year.
Apple's iPhone sales continued to decline in the third quarter of 2019. Apple sold 40.8 million iPhones, a year-over-year decline of 10.7%. "Although Apple continued its sales promotions and discounts in various markets, this was not enough to stimulate demand globally," said Mr. Gupta. "In the Greater China market sales of iPhones continued to improve, however, it follows a double-digit decline recorded at the beginning of the year. The iPhone 11, 11 Pro and 11 Pro Max saw good initial adoption, which suggests that sales may be positive in the remaining quarter."
The report notes that the initial adoption of the iPhone 11 range was positive, confirming previous reports that demand is strong. It also notes that upcoming Black Friday promotions and the holiday season will spur demand across the board in the final quarter of 2019. Apple recently announced its own Black Friday promotion, which features its standard offering of a gift card worth up to $200.
The news may be a cause of concern to some, whilst it was generally accepted that Apple's iPhone sales had fallen, previous estimates had put the decline between 2 and 7%. This latest estimate is certainly more substantial. However, as Gartner notes, Q3 sales may have declined for a number of reasons. Not only the impending rollout of more widespread 5G, but also Apple's decision not to include 5G in its latest iPhone. Apple is rumored to be preparing three new 5G capable iPhones for 2020, demand for which could well be astronomical. The introduction of 5G would likely be seen by many as the most significant update to the iPhone in recent years.
