Apple Q3 2012: 26M iPhones, 17M iPads, 4M Macs, and 6.8M iPods

Apple managed to move a lot of iDevices over the last three months. The company just reported its third quarter financials and detailed iPhone, iPod, and iPad unit sales. The iPad saw a killer quarter with sales up from 11.8M units in Q2 to 17M in Q3. That said, the iPhone didn’t fare as well. The company shipped 26M down from 35.1M last quarter but up 28% from last year’s third quarter.

These numbers are mostly in line with analyst’s predictions who estimated that iPhone sales would decline while the iPad would see substantial growth. Apple actually managed to move fewer iPhones than expected with most analysts expecting sales numbers to hit between 29M and 31M.

The decline in iPhone sales is an important factor since that unit accounts for the bulk of AAPL’s revenue and profits. iPhone unit sales fell quarter-over-quarter for the first time since Q4 2011. iPhone sales declined 9.1M units, or rather 26%, over the previous quarter. This decline could be attributed to the iPhone 4/4S’ age when compared to new Android flagship models.

The iPad had a great last few months. Apple moved 17M units during the third quarter. Sales were up 44% over Apple’s second quarter and a whopping 84% year-over-year.

The iPod is slowly drifting into obscurity though. Sales are down nearly 10% from last year and 12% from over the last quarter. With a total sales of 6.8M units, it’s still likely the best-selling MP3/MP4 player on the market, but it’s quickly becoming a niche product. Apple’s senior vice president and Chief Financial Officer confirmed this thought during Apple’s financial call today, indicating that the iPad still holds 70% of the market.

Apple’s Macintosh sales fell short of analyst’s predictions, with only 4M units sold. This during a quarter that saw a significant model introduction with the MacBook Pro with Retina Display. However, the model’s supply levels have been limited, likely justifying the lower numbers sold.

Developing…