iPhone X was the best-selling smartphone in early 2018
Apple's quarterly earnings call highlights surprisingly strong sales for the flagship.
- Coauthor of Uninvested (Random House, 2015)
- Once wrote 50 articles in one month.
While rumors of the next generation of iPhones continue to proliferate, it was Apple's current lineup, including the $1,000 iPhone X , that captured most of the attention this week. On Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook announced that Apple earned nearly $150 billion in revenue and $34 billion in earnings for the first half of the company's fiscal year.
People have really wanted to buy the iPhone X in 2018.
There's simply no understating the importance of the iPhone in those results. Apple generates about two-thirds of its revenue -- and, most likely, much of its profits -- from the iPhone portfolio. The company sold 52.2 million of its phones in the first three months of 2018, and Cook noted that the iPhone X was Apple's best-selling device every week of the quarter.
Slump? LOL. The iPhone X was the world's best-selling smartphone in Q1
In fact, countering the predictions of many analysts, the iPhone X claimed the title of best-selling smartphone overall for the first quarter of 2018. Apple shipped 16 million iPhone X units between January and March, according to market researcher Strategy Analytics. Apple also nabbed the next two spots on the list with the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which sold 12.5 million units and 8.3 million units, respectively.
In the weeks leading up to Apple's announcement, numerous analysts cut their earnings estimates, warning that it could mark the end of an era of staggering growth. They based their fears on results from Apple's component suppliers, including Samsung, which warned about weakness in the mobile market.
Read: When it comes to Apple's iPhone X sales, Wall Street got it wrong
iPhone shipments rise in down smartphone market
And as if that wasn't enough, Apple's share of the global smartphone market increased in the first quarter of 2018 in the midst of an overall downturn. Global shipments in the quarter fell 2 percent year over year to 345 million units, according to Strategy Analytics.
Samsung held on the smartphone sales crown by shipping 78.2 million units, a decline of 2 percent year over year, giving it a market share of 23 percent. Apple's second-place finish marked an increase of 3 percent, giving it a market share of 15 percent.
Apple to make just 8 million iPhone X units in Q2
Despite the success of its premium flagship, Apple plans to make only 8 million iPhone X units in its second quarter of the year, according to Fast Company. The article suggests that Apple's production cut is a response to lukewarm sales for its most expensive model ever, and that the company may focus on selling off an accumulated inventory of unsold iPhone X units.
In other news: UK iPhone users encounter battery replacement friction
Some folks in the UK are encountering requests for pricey repairs before they can get their cheap iPhone upgrades, reports the BBC.
In case you missed it: All of the rumors about the 2018 iPhones
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