Apple Reports Record iPhone Sales in Q1, but iPad Down 18 Per Cent

Apple Logo HQ HeadquartersApple has reported record figures for Q1 2015, with revenues of $74.6bn (£49bn), up 30 per cent year-on-year, and net profits of $18bn.

Following the release of the 6 and 6 Plus models, iPhone sales increased 46 per cent year-on-year to a record 74m units. However, iPad sales dropped 18 per cent, to 21.4m units, even with the release of new Air 2 and Mini 3 models last October.

Apple also reports its physical and online sales saw a combined 500m visits from customers during the quarter, and a 41 per cent increase in App Store revenues.

iPhone sales
Apples greatest success of the quarter is without doubt the sheer number of iPhone sales.

“This volume is hard to comprehend,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook on the companys earnings call. “On average we sold over 34,000 iPhones every hour, 24 hours a day, every day of the quarter.

“It was truly a momentous quarter for iOS. On November 22nd we shipped our billionth iOS device. It was a space grey 64GB iPhone 6 Plus, which we’ve saved here at Apple.”

The iPhones record sales were driven by markets outside of the US, accounting for 65 per cent of revenues during the quarter, and especially in emerging markets. Sales of the iPhone doubled year-on-year in China, and performed similarly in Brazil, Russia and India.

Reports earlier this week that Chinese iPhone sales had overtaken the US seem to have been premature. China is now the second largest market for the iPhone, according to Apple CFO Luca Maestri, but it seems likely that it could slip into first place before long.

Apple Watch, Pay and HealthKit
Asked about the Apple Watch, Cook confirmed that it would start shipping within the first four months of the year.

“My expectations are very high on it,” he added. “Im using it every day and love it and I can’t live without it. So I see that we’re making great progress on the development of it. The number of developers that are writing apps more for it are impressive and we’re seeing some incredible innovation coming out there.”

As for Apples other new ventures, Cook reported that HealthKit has been integrated into apps from more than 600 developers, with hospitals including Duke Medicine, Stanford Children and Penn Medicine using data as part of their medical records.

Meanwhile, 750 banks and credit unions have signed up to enable Apple Pay for their customers. According to Cook, Apple Pay currently accounts for more than $2 out of $3 spent contactlessly on the three major card networks in the US – Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.