Originally published at: Apple’s Q3 2024 Record Revenues Surprise Tim Cook - TidBITS
Although the iPhone and Wearables segments were down slightly and the Mac up only slightly, Apple posted record third-quarter revenues thanks to yet another strong Services showing and pent-up demand for new iPads.
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Jason Snell has some thoughts about Apple’s Services revenues.
I very much liked Snell’s conclusion. In light of services skyrocketing, but with 1/4 of that coming from the Google search deal alone, his statement cannot be repeated enough.
But let’s make no mistake about where the strength of the Services business comes from: Apple’s hardware. Services work because Apple has succeeded at growing its installed base, selling more Macs and iPads and iPhones, getting users into the ecosystem so they can buy all the different hardware products on offer and tie them all together with Apple services.
Without good hardware and software, Apple’s services would be irrelevant. I hope everyone in a position of authority at Apple understands that. Services are a way to help make Apple’s hardware even more profitable than it already was. But services can never, ever take precedence over Apple’s hardware. If Apple ever begins to see its hardware as merely a vessel for selling more subscription services, the game will be over.
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@chris-pepper pointed out separately that the missing blood oxygen capabilities in the Apple Watch can’t be helping the Wearables category’s revenues. It is a little surprising that Apple is allowing that to drag on—perhaps the blood oxygen sensor isn’t that big of a selling point in Apple’s research.
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A post was merged into an existing topic: LittleBITS: Should We Continue Covering Apple Financials?