Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s iPhone 5 continues to defy the odds, as announcements to the public continue to surprise many. The company recently announced that it logged 5 million sales units within the first weekend following the launch, which is approximately 3 days sales. Additionally, the company also did reveal that demand for the new iPhone 5 had outstripped its current inventory, but nonetheless, analysts expect the stock to outperform estimates for the next quarter.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s competitors have found an easy target of criticism, in the form Apple maps, which have been receiving substantial negative reviews. Nonetheless, the competitors’ taunts are somewhat an exaggeration of the problem, although Apple really, does need to address the issue. Motorola Mobility, Nokia Corporation, and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, have taken a great deal of the maps, using them to challenge the new iPhone 5, which they fear could take a huge chunk of the market.
Apple maps face stiff competition from Google maps following the latter’s integration with Zagat Scores, Google+, and Google Earth. In addition, Google maps are now available in 3D for major metropolitan places around the globe.
The silicon valley giant could soon launch another device, which would further boost its revenues for the next quarter. Following the launch of Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)’s Nexus 7, tablet, along with the new Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle Fire Tablets, which are a little more cheaply priced, compared to Apple’s iPads. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has sought to come up with a cheaper version of its iPads, dubbed iPad 7″ mini.
Analysts expect the device to launch at some point in October, while the announcement should come in a little earlier than than that. It is also estimated that the new iPad mini, if launched at the prospected dates, it could log about 10 million units in sales, in the December quarter.
Furthermore, analysts also expect Apple to launch a new 13″ MacBook Pro, with retina display; a smaller version, which also more affordable as compared to the 15″ model. While this may not be evident to some, I believe Apple is trying to capture all the markets this time around. Initially it has been branded as a high-end device maker, but following increased competition, the iPad Mini’s will likely compete on that front. Additionally, the iPhone 4s is now available for free on a two year contract subscription, which will more or less, sum up a comprehensive product line for the tech giant.
Barclays research expects Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) to nearly double its iPad sales units for the year 2012, as compared to 2011 figures, while the iPhone should grow by about 60% for the same comparison. The only decline is expected from the iPod unit, while the rest of the units, including Mac desktops and Mac notebooks, should also grow significantly.
Overall, Apple Inc. has a good trend in sales, both quarter to quarter, and year on year, with declines experienced only a quarter towards the launch of a major product as witnessed this year, when customers held on to their cash waiting for the new iPhone 5.
The new iPhone 5 can also draw more confidence from the performance of its predecessor, the iPhone 4S, as revealed in Flickr. Flickr users have identified the iPhone 4S camera as the best. Consumers in the developed markets are increasingly using its camera, due to its ease of use and speed in taking photos. Therefore, iPhone 5 has every right and ability to take over from its predecessor, as it is much better than iPhone 4S.
Indeed, a majority of the iPhone models lead the charts in Flickr, in terms of popularity, with iPhone 4S logging 4,376 users on a daily basis, as per the most recent statistic, while iPhone 4 garnered about 4,242 users daily. The other models, the iPhone 3G, and iPhone 3GS come in after, but still before Samsung Galaxy S2, which falls a distant fifth.
While the demand for the Mac products is somewhat declining, analysts believe that Apple will soon be launching new products to boost their demand. Nonetheless, there is still some healthy demand for the new macbook pros, despite their failure to sell out on a daily basis.
The release of the new OS X Mountain Lion has not significantly stimulated Mac hardware sales, notes Barclays Equity research analysts. Nonetheless, this is not affecting Apple alone, as the PC market in general seems to be struggling against a very dynamic tech market, that is really going mobile.
This is well revealed in the gigantic demand for the new iPhone 5, which has forced some delivery schedules to be pushed to between three to four weeks. A majority of Apple’s products are listed in-store, despite recent hitches in material supply, especially the retina display, noted Barclays analysts. this is a clear indication that the inventory is not as distressed as initially feared; maybe just for the new iPhone 5. However, the analysts recently felt that Apple’s iPhone 5 demand is affecting technology trends, due to its inventory requirements.
At the time of this writing, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) stock was trading at $664.44, down $9.10 per share, or 1.35% decline from yesterday’s close.
