Commentary

Apple's App Store Shine Dulled By IPhone Sales Worries

Apple has some great news to report today. Indeed, its App Store set a new single-day spending record on New Year's Day, after shoppers spent about $144 million on apps. Better yet, from Dec. 20 through Jan. 3, Apple says shoppers dropped $1.1 billion on apps and in-app purchases.

Patting itself on the back, the tech company also noted that it’s now responsible for creating and supporting 1.9 million domestic jobs -- per an estimate based on research by Dr. Michael Mandel of the Progressive Policy Institute.

Apple attributed nearly three-quarters of those jobs -- over 1.4 million -- to the growing community of app creators, engineers and entrepreneurs building apps for its iOS mobile operating system, along with various jobs supported directly and indirectly by its app economy.

Unfortunately for the company that Steve Jobs built, the impressive figures are being overshadowed today by reports that it’s scaling back on iPhone orders.

“Apple has cut its order forecasts to iPhone suppliers in the past several months,” The Wall Street Journal reports, citing multiple sources.

The reports shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to Apple watchers, considering that the company is coming off a sales surge driven by the launch of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus. Even if Apple had some fancy new iPhones to sell -- which it doesn’t -- most consumers wouldn’t be ready for such a speedy upgrade.

Still, as Reuters points out: “Reports of slowing shipments and mounting inventories of the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, as well as tepid forecasts from suppliers, have pushed Apple investors into unfamiliar territory after years of booming sales and surging shares.”

Needless to say, revenues from Apple’s App Store can’t compare to revenue generated by hardware sales.

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