Business

Inside Apple's Q4 16 quarter: iPad sales are simply terrible

While iPhone and Mac sales may be looking good, iPad sales are falling off a cliff.

Written by Adrian Kingsley-Hughes, Senior Contributing Editor Oct. 25, 2016 at 2:42 p.m. PT

Let's take an in-depth look at Apple's Q4 16 quarter.

We'll kick off by looking at the iPhone.

Sales of 45.5 million are slightly higher than Wall Street expected, with unit sales up 13 percent compared to the previous quarter, and down 5 percent compared to the year-ago quarter.

And this quarter saw the average selling price increase slightly from $595 last quarter to $618, a sign that more buyers are willing to spend more for a higher-spec iPhone than last quarter, but it seems that the cheaper iPhone SE is still dragging down sales compared to Q2 16, where the ASP was $641.

At 9.2 million, iPad sales are at their lowest since Q3 11, five quarters on from the iPad being released and when the sky was the limit.

iPad sales are down 7 percent compared to the last quarter, and down 6 percent compared to the year-ago quarter.

iPad ASP has fallen from $490 the previous quarter to $460, which possibly indicates that the shine is wearing off iPad Pro sales.

On the Mac sales front, things are mixed. While sales of 4.88 million aren't too bad - anything that's around the 5 million mark is pretty good for Macs, especially considering how decrepit the lineup is right now - and up 15 percent compared to the previous quarter, it's still a 14 percent decline compared to the year-ago quarter.

What about Apple Watch sales? Well, while Apple doesn't disclose these figures, it is possible to make some educated guesses.

Based on estimates derived from data crunched by Apple-watching analyst Neil Cybart of Above Avalon, Apple Watch sales are estimated to be in the 2 million range, with an ASP of $390.

This means that Apple Watch is worth some $780 million to Apple last quarter. Peanuts compared to the big hitters like the iPhone, Mac, or even the iPad, but it still represents a growing ecosystem.

And remember that these sales are for a first-generation device (sales for the Apple Watch 2 fall into the next quarter's earnings).