Apple’s iOS mobile operating system held around 10 percent of the global smartphone market share in the second quarter of 2019 – its lowest share since 2008. In the third quarter of 2019, iOS accounted for 13 percent of the market. The number of iPhone shipments worldwide over the first half of the year are also down on previous years, meaning annual iPhone sales could drop below 200 million units for the first time since 2014.

Are Apple paying the price?

The price of Apple’s high-end smartphones could be one reason behind its share of worldwide shipments falling. Released in September 2018, the consumer price of the iPhone XS exceeds 1,000 U.S. dollars in many countries. As a result, Apple are not prominent in the list of manufacturers making up the smartphone share of emerging markets like India and China. In contrast, Android smartphones are on average cheaper to buy than those with other operating systems.

How will Apple react to declining sales?

Apple’s situation mirrors a global trend that is seeing smartphone shipments decline year-on-year. Smartphone sales are levelling off at around 1.5 billion units per year and the industry is forecast to experience its first ever annual fall in sales in 2019. Sales of iPhones are contributing less to Apple’s overall revenue and as a result the company is shifting focus to their services business, which includes the App Store, AppleCare and digital subscriptions to services such as Apple Music.