It appears that tech giant Apple continues to dodge the financial bullet shot by the ongoing changes in the global smartphone development sector as, despite a drop of 1% in its revenues for Q2-2023, its profits were up by 2%, settling at around $19.88 billion.
However, with new features becoming somewhat incidental – even incremental, according to some tech scene watchers – experts wonder if Apple will be able to hold off the worst effects of the economic downturn for much longer.
Indeed, Apple just barely exceeded market watchers’ forecasts regarding its Q2 profit and sales, and its share value dropped by around 0.7% in after-hours trading on Thursday, August 3rd.
Apple continues to enjoy healthy profits and just the lightest impact on its bottom line because its smartphone business is considered one of the most resilient in the industry.
Indeed, while most of its rivals have been floundering when it comes to sales, Apple has upped its market share and made inroads to new markets in both Latin America and South Asia.
Apple in the Post-pandemic Context
One reason why Apple managed to power through the lean pandemic years was because the need to work from home bolstered the sale of iPads and Macs. Indeed, while other tech titans like Meta and Amazon found themselves laying off the bulk of their workforces, Apple was able to keep all hands on deck – but, again, for how much longer?
The number of new tablet and computer purchases on the part of Apple customers fell significantly last year and, as of the second quarter of this year, the number of iPads sold was down by 20% and that of Macs by around 7%.
Also, despite the introduction of Vision Pro, the company’s first new product in nearly a decade, analysts doubt if it will have the same impact that iPhones have long had on Apple’s bottom line. For one thing, the $3,500 price tag is incredibly steep; for another, these state of the art augmented reality goggles won’t be making the market until next year.
With Apple set to launch yet another iteration of the iPhone next month, both market watchers and tech analysts doubt if it will be introducing anything new to tickle the public’s fancy.
