iPhone sales grow 16.3% to 39.3M in Q4 2014, but iPad sales decline by 12.8%

As part of the company’s latest quarterly earnings announcement, Apple today revealed that it sold 39.3 million iPhones and 12.3 million iPads during its fiscal fourth quarter of 2014. These are mixed results, which has become typical for the company lately.

In Q4 2013, Apple sold 33.8 million iPhones and 14.1 million iPads. This means the company’s iPhone sales were up 16.3 percent year-over-year while its iPad sales were down 12.8 percent year-over-year.

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Q4 2014 industry estimates for iPhone sales ranged between 37.47 million and 38.72 million while estimates for iPads ranged between 12.70 million and 13.35 million. Apple thus easily beat estimates for iPhones but failed to do the same for iPads.

More specifically, Apple managed to outperform both the institutional consensus and the independent one when it comes to its hottest gadget, but its tablets fell below both. Given that the company’s iPhone business is much more important than its iPad one, this is still good news for Cupertino overall and explains why the company’s stock is up in after-hours trading.

These results also further confirm solid sales of the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. “Our fiscal 2014 was one for the record books, including the biggest iPhone launch ever with iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus,” Apple chief executive Tim Cook said in a statement.

Those considering buying iPads, however, were likely waiting to see what Apple would announce during its October event. With the iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 now available, this current quarter will be crucial not only to see how the new iPhones fare during the holiday shopping season, but also to gauge just how badly the company’s tablet is still desired.

The fact Apple continues to sell more iPhones than last year is impressive, especially given the increased competition from the likes of Google, Samsung, and the growing number of tech companies looking for a slice of the smartphone pie. The iPad is having a harder time; its numbers have now been on a decline for the past three consecutive quarters.