Is Apple Inc.'s "iPhone Peak" a Myth or Fact?

Since the release of its earnings, the tech titan is subjected to analysts' harsh expectations.

CEO Tim Cook’s leadership has been under a lot of pressure since Apple Inc. released its quarterly earnings. A slow growth in iPhone sales provided analysts an implausible premise to mark their opinion of “iPhone Peak” on. Many analysts view that the demand for Apple’s core product –iPhone is gone. But, Steve Jobs’ genius innovation is not likely to lose its charm in the market anytime soon. According to AppleInsider, the company is performing far better than what analysts have been describing it to be.

Last year has been difficult for almost every country. The economic condition hit each industry. The strong dollar was a hard blow on the purchasing power of the overseas market. However, the Californian firm performed incredibly well despite this fact. In the December quarter, it sold
“slightly higher” handsets. The sales also matched with the company’s guidance. Reportedly, it managed to “produce and sell” 74 million iPhone devices in just a span of three months.

Rival Samsung’s cheaper handsets are often considered a “deterrent” in the sales of the premium devices. However, the comparison has not been conducted on plausible grounds. Samsung’s and others’ premium Android devices were subjected to decline in sales as well. After falling almost 32%, over $500 Android devices came to 190 million units in 2015 from a strong 280 million units in 2012. But Apple got the lion’s share in all the fuss and skepticism.

Moreover, the “most valuable company” is very much likely to launch the new smaller sized iPhone 5s, dubbed as “iPhone 5se” –where “se” denotes the special edition. Therefore, on prudence basis, the company should have completed the production of flagship 6-line devices before commencing the production of the rumored 5se. Hence, the speculations regarding the constraint on supply are nothing but wrong. In addition, no evidence of inventory stock or decline in the NRV was found to match with the “slowing demand” allegation.

On the contrary, Apple’s Authorized Service Providers have been continually increasing even intentionally despite the globally economic crux. It can only purport that the U.S. tech giant is not running out of the buyers. AppleInsider denounced ZDNet’s expert Adrian Kingsley-Hughes claim that “everyone who has an iPhone already has one,” while pointing out that the probable buyers of iPhone have got the device. The analyst at AppleInsider cited that the iPhone is a consumable product and the users of the device upgrade to latest handset annually or at least once in two years. Furthermore, as acknowledged by Cook, the number of users’ switch from Android to iOS platform “has been high.” He noted that at least 30% of the new iPhone users transitioned from Android.

Contrary to the harsh prediction of several analysts regarding the 30% iPhone cuts, Cook, while answering to the question of an analyst, suggested, “We do think that iPhone units will decline in the [March] quarter. We don’t think that they’ll decline to the level that you’re talking about.” Moreover, the CEO chose to “remain silent” on the suggestion given by the analysts on the price cut or the budget-friendly offers to increase the sales of the prestigious devices. Tim Cook has always had firm stance regarding the product pricing and convinced the consumers why the product is worth the high cost.

It’s more than probable that the iPhone sales will have a surge in the near future. The promising “iPhone 7” is likely to increase the sales for the company. It is a fact that the iPhone has got loyal customers. Recently, the above $500 billion organization was sued by a consumer who resulted for the company to remove its “impact resistant” claim of the Watch. However, the disappointed customer cited that he had no intention to tarnish the image of the company rather he wanted to get the refund only and that he looks forward to buy the next gen product.

Similarly, an iPhone consumer’s handset was rendered “dead” subject to newly identified “Error 53”. According to Wall Street Journal, the error occurred when consumers upgrade their devices to the latest software and it locked the devices and the data stored in them. In response to the Error, the company stated that the error was designed to happen after “an unauthorized or faulty screen replacement.”

A customer from Baltimore was rejected by the Apple store when it found out that the consumer has gotten the screen replaced from the third party. The store claims that once the third party has made changes to the handset the warranty becomes void. Miffed by the store response, the consumer convinced the local vendor to buy the locked device. Surprisingly, the consumer was reported to have bought a “new iPhone.”

This renders that the loyal customers –at times disgruntled by the company’s policies –do not easily stop using the prestigious product. In the couple of months, however, sales trend and overall performance of the Silicon-Valley business will be unveiled.

At the market which closed on Friday, Apple stock price was $94.02. Additionally, the tech behemoth still maintains the position of most valuable company.