The Importance of the iPhone to Apple

iPhone sales in the three months ending September 2020 stayed at subdued coronavirus levels: The company's most crucial product only managed to generate revenues of $26.44 billion in the fall quarter. While the delay of the iPhone 12 release clearly impacted the current quarter negatively, things should be looking up now that Apple's newest phone is hitting the shelves. It still remains to be seen if the iPhone 12 will make up for the substantial revenue dip in the segment or whether the importance of the iPhone for Apple is following a general downwards trend.

As this infographic shows, there was a significant slump in terms of the iPhone's share of total revenue in the two most recent quarters - now sitting at only 41 percent.

At an overall revenue of $64.7 billion, Apple actually hit a new record for the fall quarter. Yet, the figure only increased by 1 percent year-over-year. The lack of an iPhone released in the quarter eliminated the possibility for major growth, displeasing shareholders. Stock market performance suffered as a result.

CEO Tim Cook pointed out that "outside of iPhone", all other product categories saw strong double digit growth. Without a new iPhone already in its arsenal, however, Apple is unable to perform at its best.