14 DAY TRIAL // Future earnings reports released by Apple will no longer include data on how many iPhones the company sold in the previous quarter, Cupertino officials announced today.
Apple will thus use an approach that was already used for the Apple Watch, whose sales figures were included in the Other Products unit, with iPhone, iPad, and Mac data to no longer be shared publicly.
Instead, what Apple wants to provide is a so-called qualitative statement that will serve as an indicator as to how the iPhone performed in the previous quarter. In other words, Apple would only say if the iPhone sold well or not, but without any specifics on the actual performance of the device.
Furthermore, Apple will rename the Other Products business to “Wearables, Home, and Accessories,” and in addition to the Apple Watch, Beats, and HomePod, it would also include the iPod Touch.
Samsung does it too
The decision to stop publishing specifics on iPhone performance comes at a time when sales of the device stagnated. Apple revealed earlier today that sales of iPhone in FY18 Q4 were flat, despite the arrival of iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max.
From now on, the only way to get an estimate as to how many iPhones Apple sold during a quarter will be data provided by analysts, which in turn is based on sources in the supply chain or people close to the company’s business.
Needless to say, these will be just estimates that may or may not be accurate, and without any numbers from Apple, it’ll be nearly impossible to tell whether they’re right or not.
Of course, Apple isn’t the only company that prefers to keep its exact sales figures private, as Samsung has been doing this for many years. However, given the popularity of the Apple brand, this decision is likely frustrating for the millions of fans across the world.