iPhone

Shipments of iPhones were pretty much the same as in the corresponding quarter a year ago (41.3m worldwide, just 1% up from 41m in the June quarter of 2017), and IDC reports that Chinese company Huawei, which shipped 54.2m phones in the quarter, has consequently leapfrogged Apple to claim the status of number 2 smartphone vendor in the world (after Samsung, which held on to the top spot). However, Apple’s revenue from iPhones was up a hefty 20% year–on–year, reflecting the fact that the iPhone models selling strongly now are higher–priced ones, like iPhone X (although Apple did not disclose sales figures model by model). In the conference call following Apple’s earnings announcement, Tim Cook focused on other performance indicators, claiming the “iPhone active installed base grew by double digits” in the quarter and noting that 451 Research reported an impressive 98% customer satisfaction rate. iPhone models make up three of the top five smartphones in the US, UK, and Japan, he said.