Apple breaks three-quarter drought as iPhone 7 boosts sales

Apple has finally put an end to its three-quarter drought after recording its highest quarterly revenue ever. The technology giant announced its financial results for fiscal 2017 first quarter, impressing analysts with an all-time record quarterly revenue of $78.4 billion. This was boosted by the September release of the iPhone 7, with overall iPhone sales beating expectations. The company sold 78.3 million iPhones during the three months ending December, a 5 percent jump from a year earlier.

“We’re thrilled to report that our holiday quarter results generated Apple’s highest quarterly revenue ever, and broke multiple records along the way. We sold more iPhones than ever before and set all-time revenue records for iPhone, Services, Mac and Apple Watch,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement.

The iPhone remains at the center of Apple’s business, as the company scoops up about two-thirds of its sales from the said device. The smartphone’s latest iteration, however, did not highlight much difference from its predecessor, although it did feature a bigger screen and dual rear cameras.

Despite surpassing analysts’ expectations, the latest earnings results underscore Apple’s struggle in regaining the momentum it did for previous iPhone launches. The latest iPhone 7, for example, failed to generate double-digit increase in overall iPhone sales that earlier models did in the same time period, the Wall Street Journal said.

The mounting competition from China brands is also proving to be a headache. In China, the iPhone gave up the crown to local maker Oppo as the most popular handset. Oppo’s R9 handset sold 17 million units in the world’s largest mobile phone market, while the iPhone 6s only recorded 12 million units.