Apple, third quarter sales of $89.5 billion… Continued decline for 4 consecutive quarters
Tim Cook: “We are investing a lot in generative AI… it will show product development”
Apple’s sales have declined for four consecutive quarters. Sales of iPhone, a key product, increased despite concerns about a decline in new product sales, but sales of iPad and wearables decreased.
Amid some analysis that a ‘long winter’ may begin from Apple’s next quarter, it is expected that Apple will bring out ‘generative AI (artificial intelligence)’ as a new weapon.
Apple announced on the 2nd (local time) that its sales in the third quarter (fiscal year’s fourth quarter) recorded $89.5 billion (approximately 119.4 trillion won). It decreased by about 1% from $90.1 billion (approximately 120.3 trillion won) the previous year.
Net profit was recorded at $1.46 per share, which exceeded market expectations, and total net profit was $22.96 billion (about 30.6 trillion won), an increase of about 10.8% compared to $20.72 billion (about 27.7 trillion won) the previous year.
Looking at sales by segment, iPhone is $43.81 billion (approximately KRW 58.5 trillion), iPad is $6.4 billion (approximately KRW 8.5 trillion), wearables are $9.3 billion (approximately KRW 12.4 trillion), and Mac is $7.6 billion (approx. 10.1 trillion won), etc. In the case of iPhone, it increased by about 2.8% compared to the same period last year, while iPad, wearables, and Mac decreased by 11.3%, 3.6%, and 34%, respectively, during the same period.
Regarding this, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, “The iPhone 15 in the third quarter performed better than the iPhone 14 in the same period last year. “In particular, supply of Pro and Pro Max was limited due to high demand,” he explained. In addition, as iPhone sales in the Chinese market hit an all-time high, concerns were raised that the company’s market share in China may be declining.
CEO Cook also mentioned Apple’s generative AI strategy in a Q&A with investors and analysts following the third quarter earnings announcement. He emphasized, “If you look closely at what Apple has done with AI and machine learning and how it has been used, you will see that AI is an essential basic technology for all Apple products.”
He continued, “AI is also included in the core of iOS functions, and the fall/collision detection and electrocardiogram measurement functions of the iPhone or Apple Watch would not be possible without AI,” and added, “Although these functions have not been specified as AI, the fundamental technologies are clearly AI and machine learning. “It is,” he added.
Apple also revealed that it is making large investments in generative AI. “I can’t go into detail yet, but there’s definitely something Apple is working on when it comes to generative AI,” Cook said. “We’re investing quite a bit. “We will make (generative AI investments) responsibly, and over time, we will be able to see the development of Apple products,” he said.
Although CEO Cook did not clearly state which products or timing generative AI will be applied to, industry analysts predict that Apple will port AI to the iPhone through a software update as early as next year.
Apple is expected to introduce generative AI functions as early as ‘iOS 18’, the operating system (OS) for iPhone that will be released next year. There is a high possibility that generative AI will be incorporated into the voice assistant Siri, Apple Music, and messaging apps through OS updates.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.