Apple's holiday quarter is usually its biggest, and it looks like this year will be no exception. Q1 of 2015, which runs from October to December of calendar 2014, was the first full quarter of availability for the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. This time also saw the introduction of several new and reduced-price iPads and the Retina 5K iMac. Apple announces its results at 5pm Eastern today, and as usual Senior Reviews Editor Lee Hutchinson and I will be there to report on the results and the Q&A session with Apple CEO Tim Cook and CFO Luca Maestri.
Most predictions about Apple's numbers call for healthy growth in revenue and profit on the back of healthy iPhone sales—we're probably still seeing a bit of pent-up demand from buyers who were waiting for larger phones. We'll also be looking to see whether some trends established in fiscal 2014 will continue into the new year. We've had three straight quarters of slumped iPad growth, and Mac sales have been growing at a higher-than-usual rate all year.
Finally, this quarter's report will be the first one in years not to mention the iPod as a separate product—not much of a surprise, given its sharply declining year-over-year sales figures last year. It will be rolled into a new category called "Other Products" along with Beats headphones, the Apple TV, and other accessories like AirPort routers and cases and adapters sold in Apple's stores (the Apple Watch will eventually appear in this category as well). Revenue generated from Apple Pay, which also launched in Q1, will be reported along with iTunes/Software/Services revenue, while the iPhone, iPad, and Mac will remain separate line items. Apple will be republishing data from older quarters to reflect the new reporting divisions, and we'll be updating our charts to account for it too.
reader comments
20