Apple unremarkably wreak its cards middling close to the waistcoat when it comes to product predictions . Not on Tuesday — whendiscussing his party ’s fourth - twenty-five percent execution with analysts , Tim Cook made a bold program line about the quarter to come .
Apple CEO Tim Cook at this month ’s iPhone 4 launch case
“ I ’m confident that we will set an all - fourth dimension disc for iPhone this quarter , ” Apple ’s chief operating officer said — a prevision he repeated several times during the call .
Apple CEO Tim Cook at this month’s iPhone 4 launch event
Apple is certainly off to a strong start in making good on Cook ’s forecast . The iPhone 4S went on sales event last Friday and promptlytopped the 4 million mark for speech sound soldin its first step weekend . That doubled the sales total racked up by the iPhone 4 when it debut in 2010 .
need is clearly high for Apple ’s first major headphone overhaul in 15 months . Apple took 1 million preorders for the iPhone 4S in the first 24 hours that the telephone set was available . This week , it implemented areservation organisation for customerseager to get their script on the new phone .
Smartphones have become vainglorious business for Apple . accord to physique released by the companionship Tuesday , Apple sold more than 17 million iPhones during its just - complete financial fourth tail . That brought in $ 10.98 billion in tell apart revenue for the company .
Still , iPhone sale were not as strong as they could have been during the quarter . Some Wall Street analysts were appear for Apple to sell between 18 million and 20 million phones between July and September — a shortfall that Apple executives blamed squarely on the build - up in rumors over the summertime that a novel earpiece handout was impending .
“ We choose to defer total Modern carriers or countries , jazz that we would plunge the 4S in October , and we want to launch them with our latest product , ” Apple chief fiscal officer Peter Oppenheimer say Tuesday . “ That had some wallop on the quarter . The biggest impact was the very permeative rumors , peculiarly in second half of the quarter . ”
Would Apple have trade more iPhones during its fourth fourth had consumers not been anticipating a new release ? Cook told analysts that he could n’t give a phone number on how many phone Apple might have sell if expectations were different , “ but I think it was substantial . ”
“ That ’s why we called it out , ” he added . “ Anyone monitor the press would make the same conclusion . ”
It ’s clear Apple thinks it has a succeeder on its hands with the iPhone 4S. Both Cook and Oppenheimer touted the phone ’s A5 processor , camera betterment and Siri part - control feature during Tuesday ’s call with analysts . But the company sees potential beyond just the early adopters calculate to upgrade to the latest earphone .
Specifically , Cook pointed to the size of the handset securities industry , which he enunciate cover about 1.5 billion phones . The smartphone section , in contrast , is about 400 million . That ’s potentially a heavy telephone number of users who might upgrade to more amply - featured phones , and Apple wants them to think of the iPhone first .
“ We desire iPhone in an as many customers ’ hands as potential , since we believe it ’s the cracking phone by far , ” Cook said . “ We aspire to much large volumes . ”
That may explicate why the iPhone 4S is n’t the only offering in Apple ’s smartphone lineup . The companionship go along to trade the iPhone 4 , which is available for $ 99 to customers who signal a two - year contract with Sprint , Verizon , or AT&T. The iPhone 3GS remains on the market as well , despite the fact that Apple introduced it more than two class ago . But it ’s now a barren phone so long as you sign up for two twelvemonth of service with AT&T — a fact that could appeal to sport phone user looking to step up to a smartphone without spending a portion of money at the outset .
Apple can point to a track phonograph recording of 3GS price cuts attracting new user . In some state , the price of the iPhone 3GS deteriorate during the September quarter so that Apple could see what happened in prepaid mart . Cook say the company was “ very pleased ” with the results — hence the move to offering a complimentary iPhone 3GS in the U.S.
