Apple's Hardware Sales Dipped In Q3, But Services Picked Up The Slack

Apple has revealed the numbers for its third fiscal quarter of 2023, noting that while hardware sales dipped over the summer season, its services picked up the slack. The drop in hardware sales isn't surprising given the current economic climate — and, for the iPhone specifically, because we're only a few months from the iPhone 15 lineup's launch. Overall, services not only remained fruitful for Apple, but also managed to earn the company a new record for the fiscal quarter that ended in June.

Talking about the quarterly results, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company has 1 billion paid subscribers. That figure represents the people who are paying for one or more of Apple's services, such as Apple TV+, Apple Arcade, and iCloud Drive storage. The company's revenue dropped by a single percent year over year, coming in at $81.8 billion for the quarter. Despite the drop, this still represents an uptick for Apple if you compare it to the company's second fiscal quarter of the year.

Though many people are waiting to see what the iPhone 15 series will bring to the table, demand for the current-generation model remains relatively high. That's thank to emerging markets, Cook explained as part of the company's announcement. Both Mac and iPad hardware sales dipped in the third quarter compard to the same period of time last year. Assuming the wider economy doesn't experience any major shifts in the coming weeks, Apple anticipates that its next quarter (the one ending in September) will produce a similar financial outlook compared to its summer quarter. 

That's about as much as we'll get when it comes to forward guidance, as Apple stopped providing its outlook for the future a few years ago. As tends to be the case, Cook spoke with CNBC following the earnings call, touching briefly on the topic of artificial intelligence. If you were hoping for the company to shed some light on its rumored Ajax work and "Apple GPT," prepare to be disappointed. Cook seemed to downplay the topic, noting that the company has been developing AI and integrating it into its products for many years.