Are people falling out of love with Apple’s iPhones?
Around £35bn wiped off tech giant’s market value in single day
Shares in Apple fell by 5% on Monday as two of the tech giant’s suppliers downgraded their profit expectations following poor iPhone sales.
Apple shares closed on around $194 (£150) - more than 15% below their peak in October - wiping a total $40bn (£35bn) off the California-based company’s value, the BBC reports.
The drop came after Japan Display, one of Apple’s screen suppliers, announced it was lowering its profit expectations owing to “volatile customer demand” for iPhones.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Tech firm Lumentum, which supplies Apple face-scanning systems, then downgraded its sales and profit outlook, after a leading customer reduced its shipments as a result of underwhelming sales of the handsets.
Apple announced earlier this month that it will no longer share figures on how many devices it has sold, and will only reveal quarterly revenue and profit reports, reports Alphr.
As such, there is no concrete evidence that iPhone sales have fallen since last year. However, the tech news site says disappointing profit figures suggest smartphone sales are “remaining stagnant or dropping”.
What has caused the drop in sales?
The increase in the prices of Apple’s flagship handsets is one factor being blamed for the slump, with many consumers turning to more affordable options, according to Forbes.
The news site notes that the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, launched last year, are selling well following price reductions, despite the arrival of the new £749 iPhone XR, £999 XS and £1,099 XS Max.
Are people falling out of love with Apple?
Probably not. Investor news site Seeking Alpha ranks Apple third in the world for smartphone sales, behind Chinese gadget maker Huawei and South Korea’s Samsung.
However, while Apple is still going strong, its status has slipped since the end of 2017, when it led the market ahead of Huawei.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Justice Department bites Apple with iPhone suit
Speed Read The lawsuit alleges that the tech company monopolized the smartphone industry
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Apple kills its secret electric car project
Speed Read Many of the people from Project Titan are being reassigned to work on generative AI
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The pros and cons of virtual reality
Pros and cons The digital world is expanding, for better and for worse
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
The Apple Vision Pro's dystopian debut
Why everyone's talking about Is "spatial computing" the next big thing?
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
Why Apple's carbon-neutral claims may be misleading
Speed Read The company isn't disclosing all the information, a new report alleges
By Devika Rao Published
-
The advent of the AI iPhone: does new tech show promise or peril?
Talking Point Apple design guru Jony Ive and OpenAI founder Sam Altman believed to be in talks to create new device
By The Week Staff Published
-
China steals the spotlight at Apple's iPhone 15 launch
How will a directive from the Chinese government affect the tech giant?
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why is a tiny change to the iPhone's charger such a big deal?
Today's Big Question A change to comply with EU regulations could have global ramifications
By Justin Klawans Published