Apple has become the most profitable company in the world after the launch of the iPhone 6.
Sales from the first quarter since its launch — October to December 2014 — topped $18 billion.
That is the biggest revenue ever generated by any company in such short time, and the company is expected to shatter a few more records in 2015.
Apple’s profits outpaced even the world’s biggest oil producers.
The expected sales by the end of calendar year 2015 for apple are expected to be over $21 billion, more than the annual GDP income of Portugal.
The company offers many sleek and innovative gadgets and accessories, but the biggest product has been the iPhone. Since the launch of the iPhone 6, Apple has been selling approximately 34,000 phones every hour.
Since the laun
ch of first iPhone in 2007, the annual revenue of the company has grown significantly every year.
” I think iPhone 6 resonated because it is seen as a big step forward from the iPhone 4 and iPhone 5,” said Mark Evans, Technology Blogger and Startup expert. “To be honest, iPhone 5 wasn’t terribly exciting.”
Experts believe the success of Apple is not only due to its products but the company’s strategy in seeking out new markets.
Chinese sales soar
The recent surge in sales has a lot to do with its success in China, where sales have risen by 70 per cent over the last year. The huge population and appetite for technology is a big reason for that.
Apple’s biggest smartphone competitor has been android phones, which had dominated the Chinese market. However, the iPhone 6 has dramatically left its competitors behind in a cloud of dust.
iPad a “niche” device
Apple’s iPad tablet has surprisingly not been doing as well as expected. Sales have recently dropped and competitors are catching up. Experts believe lack of innovation in that particular product is the reason behind its recent downward slide.
“My take is the tablet falls into the middle ground when it comes to computing devices,” Evans said. “At one end, you have laptops that are powerful and small enough to be mobile. At the other end, you have powerful smartphones with increasingly larger screens.”
“In the middle are tablets that don’t seem to have enough sizzle to make them more than niche devices”.
Apple investing overseas
Despite all the success some believe Apple is not investing in American jobs and not paying its share of American taxes.
US President Obama during a speech last week said, “ Lets close loopholes, and stop companies that keep profits abroad and reward those who invest here in America”.
Apple has insisted it is one of the biggest tax paying companies in the United States and does not shy from its responsibilities.
This year Apple is set to launch the much awaited “Apple Watch”, though why it is not called the iWatch is not clear. What is clear is that Apple believes it to be another game changer.
Evans isn’t so sure.
“I think the jury is still out on smart watches,” he said. “As far as I can tell, smart watches from Samsung and Pebble have not made a huge splash. The question is whether Apple can bring something different to the table. Can they make something so good that people would be willing to put a computer on their wrist?”
Time will tell whether the smart watch is hit, but in the meantime, Apple’s profits continue to soar. In the six minutes that it took to read this story, Apple made more than half a million dollars.
