Apple will host its Q2 FY14 earnings call tonight and while share prices in the Cupertino company have risen in expectation, analysts predict that sales of products won't be as spectacular as in previous years.
In particular, sales of the iPad will have dipped year-on-year. In Q2 FY13, Apple reported an increase in sales of 55 per cent year on year for its tablet device and second largest source of revenue, but the last year has seen more competition, not just from rival tablets, but larger phones and phablets that are eating into the overall pot.
READ: iPad Air review
Analysts therefore predict that sales of the tablet device will have declined year on year - not by much, just 0.7 per cent, but with rapid growth in former years, this could be a significant sign. It sold 19.5 million iPads in Q2 last year and is estimated to have sold 19.3 million this.
Another good reason for the decline or flatlining of tablet sales could be that Apple's feature upgrades last time out have not been as steep as in the past. The leap from the iPad third or fourth generation to the iPad Air, for example, is not as great as that from the iPad 2 to the iPad with Retina display. And the iPad 2 is still an excellent device for many, capable of running iOS 7 and most if not all modern apps.
READ: iPhone 5s review
The iPad mini was a successful addition by the company in 2012, but the 7.9-inch tablet has perhaps the most amount of competition in the form of the Nexus 7 and countless other similarly sized devices.
Analysts predict that the iPhone will have performed better in the quarter, with many expecting Apple to announce a 2 per cent rise in sales of its handsets.
Apple will present a live webcast of the Q2 FY14 conference call using QuickTime. You will be able to listen to it from 2pm PT, 5pm ET or 10pm in the UK today, 23 April, at apple.com/quicktime/qtv/earningsq214. It will work on Macs running OS X 10.5 or above, PCs with QuickTime 7 or later, iPhones, iPads and iPod touches.
