Apple iPads make a brief surge in 2016 third-quarter report

Apple released its 2016 third quarter financial results today, covering the three-month period ending June 25th 2016. The results show some slight year-over-year declines in global revenue, but also the first major bump for iPad sales in some time.

Both the iPad Pro and iPhone SE took center stage in the report, as Apple touted both of the recent launches as having a notable impact in overall sales. 

The success of those devices does create a slight dichotomy for game developers as neither Apple’s most powerful, premium-priced tablet or its economy-priced phone can sufficiently rewrite expectations for developing games for iOS.

Apple’s total revenue for the quarter, $42 billion, was down 15 percent from the year before, and sales were slightly down as total iPhone and iPad units sold dropped 15 percent and nine percent respectively. However, despite the slight reduction in units sold, iPad revenue rose seven percent, which Apple attributes to the recent release of the higher-priced iPad Pro. 

Overall the company sold 40 million iPhones and just under 10 million iPad devices. While iPhone sales are down year over year, Apple says it still had a strong sales quarter thanks to the recent launch of the cheaper iPhone SE.