Apple just released its earnings report for Q1 2013, ending in December of last year, with a solid hardware quarter overall. The iPhone dominated with 47.8 million units sold in the quarter, up quarterly and yearly, with Apple also breaking records with 22.9 million iPads sold.
The iPhone 5 saw its first full quarter of availability this period, as well as a nice holiday sales boost. Analysts had suggested earlier this month that iPhone 5 production orders had been cut on signs of weak demand.
22.9 million iPads sold is a solid increase from last quarter’s 14 million. It’s also a 33 percent YOY increase, up from 15.4 million last year. The iPad missed predictions last quarter.
Though Apple doesn’t break out specific numbers on various models, it’s fair to assume the iPad mini, which was available for the majority of the period, played a part in the increased sales along with the holiday spike. And let’s not forget, Apple also introduced an upgraded 4th-generation iPad with Lightning port alongside the little guy.
However, the iPad mini has more to make up for, as its gross margin is significantly lower than other products.
Apple sold 47.8 million iPhones over the three-month period, vs. 26.9 million last quarter and 37 million last year. That represents YOY growth of 23 percent.
Analysts believe that the iPhone may have already saturated developed markets like the U.S. and the UK, which are Apple’s strongest regions, which explains the production cuts.
However, Apple is rumored to be developing two versions of the next-gen iPhone, and one is said to be a budget model aimed at developing markets.
In terms of iPods, the new family of colorful iPod products has managed to breathe a little life into a flagging business for Apple. The introduction of the iPhone has most certainly chomped into this segment of the business, but Apple still managed to sell 12.7 million, up from 5.3 million last quarter, representing a YOY loss of 18 percent.
