Apple's iPhone sales plummet from last quarter

By Ovunc Kutlu

NEW YORK (AA) – U.S. technology giant Apple saw its iPhone sales fall short of expectations in the second quarter, according to its earnings report released Tuesday.

Total sales of iPhone models during the January-March period dropped 32 percent to 52.2 million units from 77.3 million units in the October-December period last year.

Apple introduced the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus on Sept. 22 last year and its most expensive smartphone, the iPhone X, on Nov. 3.

Despite a starting price of $1,000 for the iPhone X, revenue from total iPhone sales fell 38 percent to $38 billion from $61.6 billion during the period.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, a major supplier for the iPhone, reported on April 19 that there is softer demand for smartphone chipsets.

On April 19 and 20, Apple saw a 6.8 percent decline in its share price on the New York Stock Exchange, erasing $63.3 billion from its market value.

But Apple shares climbed 4.3 percent in after-hours trading Tuesday due to an increase in net income and revenue year-over-year.

During the January-March period this year, Apple saw its net income rise 15.5 percent on year to $61.1 billion while revenue jumped 25.5 percent to $13.8 billion.