Apple may be on the path of breaking the slump that it was experiencing in the first half of 2016. According to the latest data from Kantar Worldpanel Comtech, sales of iOS based smartphones returned to growth in the US and in EU.
In the US, iOS based device sales grew 1.3%, accounting for 31.8% of all smartphone sales in the second quarter 2016. Android devices accounted for 65.5% of the smartphone sales. Sales of iPhone6s devices accounted for 15.1% of the US Smartphone sales in the second quarter, while Samsung’s galaxy S7/S7 edge accounted for 14.1%.
The iPhone SE model is continuing to show impressive growth. in the UK, the iPhone SE was the top selling device in the quarter at 9.2% of the sales followed by the phones at 9.1%. Together both these models accounted for 37.2% of the smartphone sales in UK in the second quarter of 2016.
The lack luster trend in China continues to haunt Apple. Sales of iOS smartphones in the mainland dropped by 1.8% trailing behind Huawei and Xiaomi.
Apple’s stock is up at this time. The stock closed at $107.93 yesterday. it has managed to stay above the $100 level since its uptick on July 27th after the earnings guidance.
Apple is slated to announce the new iPhone 7 at a conference on Sept 7th according to latest news reports from Bloomberg. There have also been talks about an updated line of MacbookPro’s to be made available sometime later this year along with Apple Watch 2.0.
In order to expedite its product launch for the next gen Apple Watch, the company has decided to source all the chips from TSMC. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will replace Samsung as the sole supplier of chips for the new Apple Watch starting the second half of 2016, according to a report by Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA).
It appears that things may be changing slightly in favor for Apple even as the company struggles to grow its presence in both India and China, two of the largest smartphone markets in the world.
It remains to be seen if Apple is able to sustain the momentum in sales for its iPhone SE and iPad Pro product lines as we move into the second half of this year. More importantly, will the consumers upgrade to the new iPhone 7 and give the Apple Watch another try?