Apple had more than expected revenues in the 4th quarter of 2020, becoming for this period the largest smartphone manufacturer in the world. IPhone sales have surpassed sales of Samsung phones for the first time in many years, and they have led to record revenue for the company: more than $ 100 billion in just three months. Of course, other product categories have also been successful, including online services, which are growing for the company.
iPhone 12 led to record sales for Apple
Apple had in its first fiscal quarter for 2021 (which began in October) revenues of 111.4 billion dollars (of which 65 billion come only from phone sales), an increase of 21% over the previous year. Apple says iPhone sales have grown 17% year-over-year, and now has more than a billion active iPhone smartphones worldwide. This means that about one in eight people on the planet uses an iPhone.
IPad tablets have seen a 41% year-over-year increase, and accessories such as Apple Watch, AirPods and others have increased by 30%, and 75% of those who buy an Apple watch are new customers, who no longer have had something like that in the past.
Of all these users, 620 million pay for the monthly services that the company offers (Apple Music, Arcade, TV +, etc.), with 140 million more than the previous year. However, Apple also had parts that went worse in 2020: sales of after-sales services such as Apple Care and sales in physical stores, which fell due to COVID-19. In fact, the company closed its physical stores for long periods of the year.
Even if for this quarter, Apple sold 20 million more units of smartphones than Samsung, according to Counterpoint estimates, Samsung remains the largest smartphone manufacturer for 2020.
