14 DAY TRIAL // Apple recently reported that it had shipped 74.5 million iPhones in a single quarter, sales buoyed mainly by the ceremonious iPhone 6 launch, but also the expansion in China. In fact, if you ask some company watchers, the Cupertino giant stands to ship another 50 million units this quarter, mainly thanks to its customers in the Far East.
Analysts with a keen eye in the Taiwanese supply chain say they expect iPhone shipments to top 50 million units this quarter. DigiTimes says this will happen in the first quarter of calendar 2015, which is not to be mistaken with Q1 of fiscal 2015, which began last year and ended last week for Apple.
The market watchers reportedly said that “Demand for smartphones in the Greater China area during the upcoming Lunar New Year holidays will maintain sales of iPhone devices in the first quarter.”
Expansion in China
When Steve Jobs was running the show, Apple had about $50 billion (€44 billion) in the bank, and little interest in China. When Tim Cook took over, he immediately made inroads to expand Apple to the Far East as rapidly as possible – including new retail stores, ad campaigns, factory visits, etc. – and three years later Apple has $178 billion (€157 billion) under its belt.
In three years, CEO Tim Cook has made three Times the amount of cash Apple amassed in three decades. It doesn’t take a genius to estimate how much China contributed to that figure.
Only the beginning?
The same market watchers cited earlier also said that “the ratio of Asia-Pacific sales to Apple's total sales is expected to continue to rise.” This is, of course, thanks to Apple’s continued efforts to expand its presence in the country.
Also worth noting is that China is crazy about golden iPhones. Something Steve Jobs may or may not have endowed during his tenure. The same can be said about the gold Apple Watch which, unlike the Gold iPhone 6, is actually made of gold.