Apple had another solid quarter for hardware sales, with iOS device sales leading the charge. iPhone sales were up from last quarter, though slightly under analyst expectations. Sales possibly rose a bit thanks to the iPhone 5, which was on sale for a little while ahead of the end of the quarter on September 30. Sales of the iPhone also grew 58 percent year over year.
In total, Apple sold 26.9M iPhones, 14M iPads, 4.9M Macs and 5.3M iPods. Sales of all types of devices grew compared to the year ago quarter, with the exception of the iPod, which contracted 19 percent year over year. All Apple hardware fell short of even the revised average of analyst expectations, however.
The iPad had another strong quarter, increasing sales 26 percent year over year, something no doubt helped by the fact that despite the fact that a 4th generation version of the iPad just launched, few predicted its arrival very much in advance, meaning customer expectations didn’t have time to affect shopping patterns ahead of its launch the way they did with the iPhone 5’s hotly anticipated arrival. Still, it was under the 5.73 million average predicted by Apple watchers.
Macs also grew compared to last year, but only by 1 percent, suggesting people were looking for more than the updated 15-inch Retina MacBook Pro. This number essentially met analyst expectations, though just barely.
iPod sales continued to flag, which isn’t surprising. Sales of the iPod have declined steadily as customers move to purchase iPhones and iPads instead of dedicated portable media player devices. The iPod remains a category leader, but it’s just not the growth market it once was.
