US iPhone activations continue to decline in latest worry for Apple (AAPL)

Add the U.S. iPhone market to the ever-growing list of worries for Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).

Amid reports the tech giant is dealing with a decline in iPhone sales in China amid increased competition, Apple looks to be dealing with problems in its home market as well, according to data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

Apple’s shares of smartphone activations fell to 33% in the most recent quarter in the U.S., down from 40% in the 12 months ended March 2023, the research firm said in a blog post. Conversely, Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) Android accounts for roughly two-thirds of all U.S. activations, CIRP added.

“In some respects, the current one-third share represents a return to a much earlier time,” CIRP said in the post. “Six years ago, Apple iPhone captured a similar share of activations. Then, operating systems beyond iOS and Android, including Blackberry and even some Windows phones controlled a portion of the smartphone market. Apple’s share increased steadily until the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic and has now returned to the historic level of about one-third iPhone, two-thirds Android.”

A bite out of Apple

Though the iPhone accounts for more than 50% of Apple’s revenues, the Tim Cook-led company has more than just a saturated smartphone market to worry about, as concerns for its recently launched Vision Pro crop up.

TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said earlier this week that Apple cut the forecast for Vision Pro units it expects to ship in 2024 and 2025.

The tech giant now expects to ship between 400,000 and 450,000 for 2024, below consensus estimates, which ranged between 700,000 and 800,000, Kuo wrote in a post published on Medium, citing recent checks.

“Apple is reviewing and adjusting its head-mounted display product roadmap, so there may be no new Vision Pro model in 2025,” Kuo wrote. “Apple now expects Vision Pro shipments to decline year over year in 2025.”

Apple has also reportedly canceled its plans for its oft-rumored electric car, which may have cost the company nearly $10B in research and development costs.

Some market participants have also said the company has fallen behind in the race for artificial intelligence supremacy, ceding ground to companies such as Google, Microsoft (MSFT), OpenAI and others.

Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple will kick off its annual developers conference on June 10 with a widely anticipated keynote from Cook, where many expect the company will make several AI-related announcements.

Apple is slated to report fiscal second-quarter results on May 2. A consensus of analysts expects the company to earn $1.51 per share on $90.61B in revenue, down 4.5% year-over-year.