Apple Shipped an Estimated 36.4 Million iPhones Worldwide in Q1 2019, a 30% Year-Over-Year Decline

[MacRumors]

Apple shipped an estimated 36.4 million iPhones worldwide during the first calendar quarter of 2019, which corresponds to Apple's second fiscal quarter, according to new estimates shared today by IDC.

Apple's worldwide smartphone shipments were down 30.2 percent from 52.2 million iPhones shipped in the first quarter of 2018. The decline in sales led to Apple losing the number two worldwide smartphone vendor spot to Huawei. In Q1 2019, Huawei shipped an estimated 59.1 million smartphones.

Apple had a challenging first quarter as shipments dropped to 36.4 million units representing a staggering 30.2% decline from last year. The iPhone struggled to win over consumers in most major markets as competitors continue to eat away at Apple's market share. Price cuts in China throughout the quarter along with favorable trade-in deals in many markets were still not enough to encourage consumers to upgrade. Combine this with the fact that most competitors will shortly launch 5G phones and new foldable devices, the iPhone could face a difficult remainder of the year. Despite the lackluster quarter, Apple's strong installed base along with its recent agreement with Qualcomm will be viewed as the light at the end of the tunnel heading into 2020 for the Cupertino-based giant.

While Apple was the number three worldwide smartphone vendor and Huawei took the second place spot, Samsung continues to dominate the market with an estimated 71.9 million smartphones shipped during the quarter for 23.1 percent market share.

Apple, meanwhile, had 11.7 percent market share, down from 15.7 percent in the year-ago quarter, while Huawei held 19 percent market share during the quarter. Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo trailed after Samsung, Huawei, and Apple.

Apple was the number two smartphone vendor in Q4 2018 due to stronger holiday quarter sales, but fell behind this quarter. Huawei saw significant growth in China according to earlier numbers from Canalys, a market where Apple is struggling.

"It is becoming increasingly clear that Huawei is laser focused on growing its stature in the world of mobile devices, with smartphones being its lead horse," said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers. "The overall smartphone market continues to be challenged in almost all areas, yet Huawei was able to grow shipments by 50%, not only signifying a clear number two in terms of market share but also closing the gap on the market leader Samsung. This new ranking of Samsung, Huawei, and Apple is very likely what we'll see when 2019 is all said and done."

Overall smartphone shipment estimates totaled 310.8 million units in the first quarter of 2019, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of decline. Apple no longer provides a breakdown of unit sales of the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, leaving estimates as the only way to get a glimpse of how Apple product sales are faring.

Update: Canalys also released its worldwide iPhone shipment estimates for Q1 2019, presenting a slightly better picture for iPhone sales. Canalys believes Apple shipped 40.2 million iPhones during the quarter, down from 52.2 million in the year-ago quarter.

That marks a decline of 23.2 percent and gives Apple 12.8 percent market share. It still ranks Apple as the number three worldwide vendor, coming in below Samsung and Huawei.

Article Link: Apple Shipped an Estimated 36.4 Million iPhones Worldwide in Q1 2019, a 30% Year-Over-Year Decline

 

[MacOH21]

Well, this thread will be interesting....

 

[fourthtunz]

I love iPhones but it seems price has played a factor in lower sales
even if smart phone trends are down.

 

[EBone12355]

I love Apple. But I didn't like spending over $1k on a new iPhone XS to replace my 6+. People are not wanting to spend that much money on a phone.

 

[AngerDanger]

Gotta wonder how Mr. Cook is taking the news…

 

[BootsWalking]

I knew the sales drop had to be huge considering Apple's equally huge announcement of buying back $75B in shares today. Apple is following in IBM's footsteps - using financial engineering to mask an underlying deterioration in its core business. Time will tell how well their growing services business will be able to pick up the slack.

 

[rmoliv]

I’m not sure if services will be enough to make up for iPhone’s declining sales. Competition is strong. Apple is doomed unless someone as visionary as Steve Jobs takes the lead.

 

[Rogifan]

Considering the stock is up almost 5% after hours Wall Street has already factored this in.

 

[JPack]

No surprises here. Unless you’re wearing a tinfoil hat and living in the U.S., Huawei has an extremely competitive product line up with 5G to boot.

The 2019 iPhone lineup will regain some market share because they’re finally adopting three rear cameras. But it’s pretty obvious Apple is slowly becoming a follower with regards to smartphone technologies.

 

[Jack Burton]

It's because they haven't redefined the mute switch yet

 

[CWallace]

Apple's "core business" used to be the Macintosh. Then it was the iPod. Now it is the iPhone. It will likely next be Services.

Even with the huge drop, they still posted their third best quarter in company history so the underlying fundamentals still seem to be strong.

 

[novakk86]

The way I see it, 30% fewer phones sold at a roughly 51% higher cost (going from 650 to 1k) equals higher profit so Apple shareholders and Apple diehard fans still have something to brag about.

 

[RickInHouston]

People keep phones longer.

And it's only going to get longer, and longer and longer.

 

[Yojimbo007]

You can take those estimate and put them where the sun don't shine!

 

[anthonyondre]

It's not just the obnoxious price for a disposable device but more the constant stream of engineering defects in both hardware (screens, batteries, case bends, buttons) and software (networking, iCloud, Contacts, Mail, Calendar, iOS).

Apple needs to re-center. Some say they are going for a "fashion brand". I say there is no Steve Jobs to prioritize Jony Ives vs proper engineering and kick proverbial backside when engineering is jacked up, and push back against crazy-bad ideas. Jony is running amok, "Narcissistic Designer Gone Wild"... where is the balance?

 

[FFR]

So apple sold about 32 million iPhones for 31 billion dollars.
Talk about maximizing efficiency.

 

[Naaaaak]

Expect 2019 iPhones to be at least 30% more expensive.

 

[rwh63]

easy fix: roll out the SE2, and bring back the headphone jack!

 

[Mac Fly (film)]

Elitist execs create elitist prices.

 

[NomadicTy]

Lower sales, but more profit through higher unit prices. It worked for a few years for Altria and Philip Morris. But in contrast, they have physically addictive products, unlike Apple.

Service may take out some of the sting. But it will be a more competitive field.

 

[krell100]

It's all pretty simple: Apple is too expensive across their entire product line.

 

[Awesom-0]

Oop should of looked closer.

 

[NickName99]

Apple is doomed unless someone as visionary as Steve Jobs takes the lead.

Apple is doomed! Doooooomed!

 

[jagolden]

Apple needs to get their **** together.
While for me there was a lot of incentive to upgrade from a 6S Plus to the XS Max, for folks with an 8+ or X there was a lot less incentive.
Add to that the government controlled/subsidized China market, AND the high prices of the XS line what does Apple expect?

 

[gsmornot]

The number here is device shipments. If your cheap phone is more expensive than another’s upper tier phone you’re going to see a difference in unit sales. To compete in the China market you need to lower the quality of the device to something just good enough to not feel cheap. That is not the Apple MO. The best selling car in China, Wuling Hongguang, goes for like 10k US. The number one here is the F150 and you know those are not cheap. Let’s see the chart with the revenue.