Apple May Soon Hit Sale Of Billionth iOS Device

Talking revenue or net income in the billions isn’t something shocking for Apple, but hitting that billionth mark for sales of its iOS devices is, which apple is expected to do this quarter, according to a Seeking Alpha report released Wednesday (Oct. 22).

During Monday’s earnings call, Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed that the company sold 243 million iOS devices and 19 million Macs, which he noted was both all-time highs. Apple sold 39.3 million iPhones, an increase of 5.5 million last year, a 16 percent growth.

“That means that since 2007, Apple has sold over 950 million iOS devices in total and is on track to sell it’s billionth iOS device sometime in Q12015. The only other platforms to ever reach the billion milestone are Windows, Facebook, and Android. This is a significant milestone and unlike with Facebook, the billion dollar figure does not suggest the same penetration as Android or iOS, since the latter two act more as an annuity, where consumers purchase upgrades in rather regular cycles,” Seeking Alpha reported.

Seeking Alpha’s research concluded that while Apple focused on its strong revenue for the quarter, and data reported was tailored to sales, income and revenue, but said the key to Apple’s healthy future comes from figures somewhat overlooked about Apple’s breakthrough in large markets like China. In the past year alone, nearly 40 percent of iPhone 5S buyers were new iPhone customers and in the U.S., 25 percent of people became iPhone customers for the first time with the 5s.

“In Greater China, the expansion of the middle class along with a new 4G network rollout this year, there’s a staggering upside for the company as it rolls out iPhone 6 in China this week,” Seeking Alpha reported. “Most importantly, Apple has survived the global slowdown in key regions and experienced double digit growth in BRIC nations and both Western and Eastern Europe.”

Also noteworthy from Monday’s earnings release is the reclassifying of categories in its earnings release. Apple announced it would create a larger umbrella of other products,” which will starting next quarter loop in major products like Apple TV and Apple Watch. One analysts questioned CEO Tim Cook if Apple’s decision to move it into another category spoke to his confidence in the rollout of the Apple Watch.

“It says nothing about our expectation for the product. We didn’t form those categories based on expectations. We looked at current revenue, today revenue, and decided that we would love everything that wasn’t a Mac, an iPad, or an iPhone or a service in one kind of category. …(Also) I am not very anxious in reporting a lot of numbers on Apple Watch because of the — and giving a lot of detail on it because our competitors are looking for it and so aggregating it is helpful from that point of view as well.”

Seeking Alpha suggest what Cook inferred from this change is worth noting. “A few months ago, Apple said it was doubling down on secrecy. Until now, this didn’t extend to financial news. But perhaps that’s changing,” the report concluded.  Apple had a “remarkable quarter” Seeking Alpha reported, but said what’s most important about the earnings call was the hints sprinkled that help “reconfirm bullish views for FY2015.”