Why Apple doesn't need to sell more iPhones anymore

There's a common misunderstanding that if a company doesn't sell more of something, it means the product is a failure.

Case in point: iPhone sales fell year-over-year, and because of it, people trotted back out the same old tired narrative that Apple is doomed...again. But for real this time! They claim the iPhone X is a failure because $1,000 is simply too expensive for a phone!

But this narrative couldn't be further from the truth. Apple doesn't need to sell a higher number of iPhones at lower prices in order to continue smashing revenue records and stomp out all the competition.

Fixating on a tiny drop in iPhone sales misses the bigger picture: Apple wants to sell additional hardware and services — Apple Watch, AirPods, iCloud, HomePod, Apple Music, etc. — so that people are locked into the ecosystem that only works with the iPhone. Apple's long-term strategy isn't eternally selling more iPhones, but rather locking users into its growing ecosystem. Read more...