Why does Apple not want us to know how many iPhones they sell?
The financial director of Apple Inc. revealed that we no longer are going to know how many units they sell. This may reflect a change of direction for the company
This week, the technological giant Apple revealed disappointing forecasts for the performance of the brand during the first quarter of next year, which, according to CEO Tim Cook, is motivated by an economic slowdown in emerging markets such as India and Brazil. In addition, the financial director of the brand, Luca Maestri announced that the brand would stop making public the sales figures for its main device, the iPhone.
Leer en español: ¿Por qué Apple no quiere que sepamos cuántos iPhones venden?
Given the context in which Maestri gave his statement, his comments could have triggered mistrust among investors, as it could be interpreted as an attempt to cover up what could be a difficult year for sales of the product, which represents 53% of the total income of the company.
Among the figures revealed, it was also announced that the average sale price of the iPhone reached a new ceiling, $ 793 dollars, a considerable increase from the $ 618 dollars reported last year. This shows that consumers are willing to pay much more for the product, something that investors would welcome.
So, it does not seem that Maestri's announcement has to do with disguising a poor performance of the iPhone, but not to distract investors from what would be the focus of the company during the following year. It would not be the iPhone, but the digital services sector.
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Among Maestri's statements, the financial director said that the total number of units sold in a quarter is not a reflection of the performance of the company as a whole, so Apple will work to strengthen the provision of digital services.
The launch of a streaming platform
Perhaps the main project of Apple at the moment, with which they plan to increase the participation of digital services within their total income, is the launch of a video streaming platform, comparable to Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.
The platform would be launched next year in the United States, and after a few months of operation, it would be launched in 100 more countries simultaneously, according to reports from The Verge. Reports from The Information show that the platform would not work beyond Apple's own devices, something that could play against it when seeking to expand.
A key factor in the video streaming business is the ability to produce original content, something for which, according to The Verge, they have allocated more than one billion dollars. Furthermore, they would add contracts with personalities such as Oprah Winfrey, the creators of Sesame Street, and directors Damien Chazelle and M. Night Shyamalan.
Then, it is clear that Apple's investment to diversify its sources of income, which until now have been concentrated on the performance of the iPhone, includes a great effort to dominate the streaming market, which could reach more than 16 thousand millions of dollars by 2023.
The analyst Gene Munster, specialized in Apple for Loup Ventures, in an interview with Bloomberg, said that the decision of Maestri and Apple to stop revealing sales figures makes sense.
"It surprised me, but it makes sense. Apple wants investors to focus less on the sale of iPhones and more on Apple's entire business. It is going to take several trimesters for Apple to earn its trust in this new way of analyzing Apple's history".
LatinAmerican Post | Pedro Bernal
Translated from “¿Por qué Apple no quiere que sepamos cuántos iPhones venden?”
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