Apple Q4 results: Record quarter in India, says Tim Cook

Cook said despite the ongoing impact of COVID-19, Apple is in the midst of its most prolific product introduction period ever, and the early response to all our new products, led by our first 5G-enabled iPhone lineup, has been tremendously positive.

Apple has announced another record quarter of revenues despite the pandemic, with strong performance in international markets including India. “Geographically, we set September quarter records in the Americas, Europe and rest of Asia Pacific. We also set a September quarter record in India, thanks in part to a very strong reception to this quarter’s launch of our online store in the country,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said in an earnings call following the announcement of financial results for Q4 2020.

Cook’s statement on India also aligns with research firm Canalys’ data which showed double-digit growth to nearly 8,00,000 units in the corresponding quarter. Canalys Research Director Rushabh Doshi too had pointed to the direct to customer online store, though it went live only in the last 10 days of the quarter.

In a release, Cook said despite the ongoing impact of COVID-19, Apple is in the midst of its most prolific product introduction period ever, and the early response to all our new products, led by our first 5G-enabled iPhone lineup, has been tremendously positive. “From remote learning to the home office, Apple products have been a window to the world for users as the pandemic continues, and our teams have met the needs of this moment with creativity, passion, and the kinds of big ideas that only Apple can deliver.”

Coming soon after the launch of its new iPhones, Cook said in the earnings call that he was very “bullish on this cycle”. “It is the strongest lineup we’ve ever had by far. We do have a very large, loyal and growing install base and we’re also reaching out to switchers. And so I’m very optimistic there,” he said, also calling 5G a “once-in-a-decade opportunity”.

“There’s a lot of excitement around 5G and we’ve got some aggressive offers in the marketplace. And so when I think about all of those, and I look at the initial data points that we’ve got on the iPhone 12 and the 12 Pro, we are off to a great start.”

Cook also acknowledged the impact of the pandemic on Apple’s supply chain, saying “we are constrained today… and that’s not a surprise”. Cook added: “We haven’t taken orders yet for the iPhone 12 Mini or the Pro Max either. And so those are coming. And so we shall see. But right now, we are supply constrained. We are also supply constrained — for avoidance of any confusion — we’re supply constrained on Mac, where supply constraint on iPad, and we’re supply constrained on some Apple Watches as well.” He said this means Apple has a “fair number of areas right now of focus” and was working really hard to remedy those as quickly as they can.

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