Apple is no longer special.

As expected, Apple has made huge profits again.

According to the financial report for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025 released a few days ago, Apple's revenue during the reporting period was $102.466 billion, a year - on - year increase of 8%, setting a new record for revenue exceeding $100 billion in the fourth fiscal quarter. The net profit for the quarter reached $27.466 billion, a significant increase of 86% compared to $14.736 billion in the same period last year.

Despite the continuous negative voices about Apple in the market, its performance in fiscal year 2025 was quite remarkable. In 2021, Apple's annual revenue just exceeded $300 billion, and its net profit was $94.68 billion. In fiscal year 2025, Apple's total revenue was $416.161 billion, and its net profit reached a staggering $112.01 billion.

This is far from Apple's upper limit. As usual, after the release of the financial report, Apple's stock price usually drops slightly, but this time it quickly rebounded. The main reason is that Apple's outlook was very promising - Tim Cook estimated that the next quarter would be the quarter with the highest revenue and iPhone sales in Apple's history.

However, a more profitable Apple does not necessarily mean a better Apple.

01 The Best Apple

Apple's business is mainly divided into two major parts: hardware and software. The hardware business shoulders the heavy responsibility of boosting the revenue scale, while the high - margin software business is responsible for making money easily. Therefore, Apple's best state should be that the hardware, including the iPhone, sells more and more expensively, the user scale of the Apple ecosystem continues to grow, and the software revenue also increases steadily.

So, to some extent, you can regard Apple at present as the best Apple.

In terms of the hardware business, in the fourth fiscal quarter, Apple's revenue from the iPhone business was $49 billion, a year - on - year increase of 6.1%. In terms of shipments, IDC data shows that in the third quarter of 2025, Apple ranked second globally with 58.6 million units, with a market share of 18.2%, a year - on - year increase of 2.9%, outperforming the market's 2.6%. In terms of the average price, Dolphin Research estimates that the average shipment price of the iPhone this quarter was about $837, a year - on - year increase of 1.4%.

Among the hardware other than the iPhone, the shipment volume of the Mac business also showed a gratifying growth trend. In the third quarter of this year, the global PC market shipment volume increased by 10.3% year - on - year, and the Mac achieved a growth rate of 28.3%. The iPad business remained flat against the backdrop of a high base last year, and the shipment volume of other hardware such as wearables decreased by 0.3% year - on - year, basically halting the downward trend of the past nine quarters.

The simultaneous increase in volume and price of the hardware business not only boosted the revenue performance but also made Apple's barriers in the software business more solid.

Relying on a large user base and a loyal user group, Apple can force ecosystem developers to use the App Store and charge a fixed 30% commission on app sales and in - app purchases. There are many opponents of this model, including game manufacturers like Epic Games and government agencies in some countries and regions. In October this year, the accusation against Apple led by British scholar Rachel Kent came to a result. The arbitration tribunal ruled that Apple's actions constituted an abuse of market dominance. Apple immediately announced its plan to appeal against the ruling. These objections forced Apple to make some concessions. For example, in the United States, the App Store is required to allow foreign developers to add external payment links.

However, in the fourth fiscal quarter, Apple's software service revenue was $28.8 billion, exceeding market expectations and showing a year - on - year increase of 15.1%. This largely shows the stickiness of the user group to the Apple ecosystem.

Recently, there has also been new progress in the five - year antitrust lawsuit between Google and Epic Games. The two parties have submitted a proposed settlement plan to a US court. If approved, this long - standing lawsuit will come to an end. According to a tweet on X by Sameer Samat, the head of Google's Android ecosystem, the core of the settlement plan is to give developers more choices, reduce service fees, and introduce more competition while maintaining security. Obviously, although manufacturers can oppose exclusive agreements with monopolistic nature, it does not prevent Google from continuing to make money through its ecological barriers.

Google can obviously serve as an analogous case. In the fourth fiscal quarter, with a 28% revenue share, the software business generated 45% of Apple's gross profit. With the continuous improvement of the hardware business, Apple, this money - printing machine, will only become more stable.

02 Another Crossroads

The main reason why Tim Cook dared to give such a high outlook is that the iPhone 17 series has sold extremely well. According to Counterpoint Research, the sales volume of the iPhone 17 series in the first 10 days after its launch in China and the United States increased by 14% compared with the iPhone 16 series.

However, the iPhone 17 series is not a product with a strong "Apple flavor". One word to summarize the biggest feature of Apple's update this time is "more for the same price", offering everything it can.

Apple has always been criticized for its "slicing" approach in the standard - version models. For example, the iPhone 14 series introduced the "Dynamic Island" and the always - on display feature that was several years late, but only the iPhone 14 Pro series could have the Dynamic Island. Although the standard - version iPhone 15 inherited some features of the previous - generation Pro version, such as the A16 chip and the Dynamic Island function, it also obviously "cut off" key configurations such as the 120Hz high - refresh - rate screen and the telephoto lens.

But the standard - version iPhone 17 can be regarded as the most cost - effective standard - version iPhone. Although the standard - version iPhone 17 does not use the new motherboard architecture, it is equipped with the latest A19 chip, has the same screen as the Pro version, and is equipped with a dual - camera combination of a 48 - megapixel main camera and a 12 - megapixel 2X telephoto camera. The front - facing camera has been upgraded to 18 megapixels. It even has a 120Hz high - refresh - rate screen.

In order to take advantage of the national subsidy, Apple even temporarily abandoned its global unified pricing strategy. For the 256GB version, the standard - version iPhone 17 in Hong Kong costs HK$6,899, while in the Chinese mainland, it only costs RMB 5,999, which is within the subsidy range.

However, the iPhone Air is obviously a product with a stronger "Apple flavor".

When Apple launched the first - generation iPhone, Steve Jobs first asked a question: "Today, we are going to introduce three revolutionary products to you. The first is a widescreen iPod with touch control. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. The third is a breakthrough Internet communication device. What are these three products?" Then he revealed the answer: "They are not three separate devices but one device. And we call it the iPhone."

This exploration of better experiences and the ability to tell stories were the core features of Apple in the Steve Jobs era and even in the past few years.

The iPhone Air model better reflects Apple's exploration of the future, such as its brand - new design from the inside out.

To ensure the strength of the ultra - thin body, the iPhone Air is the only one among the three new models this year to use titanium. To fit the necessary components into a thinner body, Apple redesigned the component layout, removed the bottom speaker, moved the front - facing camera module down, and created a motherboard that weighs less than 10 grams but has the computing power of the A19 Pro level.

However, such a product with a very strong Apple style did not achieve good results. According to reports, only over 100,000 iPhone Air units were activated in China after 12 days of sales, far lower than the internal expectations. In contrast, the sales volume of the iPhone 17 series reached 1.5 million in the first week of its launch, and exceeded 9 million units 50 days after its launch, 150% of the sales volume of the previous generation.

Ultra - thin and light flagships are indeed a difficult niche category, as they need to balance many factors. But the market's reaction actually shows a problem. In the past, Apple had a certain magic. It could guide aesthetics, trends, and even consumer demand, but now it is moving towards another crossroads.

03 In Conclusion

When inevitably compared with the late Steve Jobs, Tim Cook is often considered to have failed to produce products comparable to those of his predecessor.

Strictly speaking, this accusation is a bit unfair. Whether it is the great success of wearable products or the launch of the Apple Vision Pro, we can see Apple's exploration of cutting - edge experiences in the Tim Cook era. At the same time, as a professional manager, Tim Cook is undoubtedly successful. When he took over Apple in 2011, the company's market value was about $300 billion, and as of the time of writing, Apple's market value has reached a huge scale of $4 trillion.

However, another indisputable fact is that the pioneer, avant - garde, and high - end Apple in the hearts of fans in the past may be disappearing. They no longer blindly believe in Apple's product narrative but instead embrace more practical parameters. This is the result of Apple's overly conservative product and strategic approach over the years.

The good news is that as a stable technology giant, Apple still has many opportunities.

According to the prediction of well - known Apple analyst Mark Gurman, Apple is planning something big in 2026. At the beginning of 2026, Apple will launch a series of new products: including traditional products such as the more affordable iPhone 17e, the entry - level iPad equipped with the A18 chip, and the iPad Air with the M4 processor, as well as new products such as the first smart display and the foldable iPhone. At the same time, the development of AI and smart glasses, which people are more concerned about, is also in progress.

Whether Apple can become great again may be glimpsed next year.

Reference Sources:

1. Chaping: After disassembling the iPhone Air, I think Apple still has some tricks up its sleeve.

2. Dolphin Research: Apple: Can the iPhone Maintain Its Dominance? When Will AI Show Its True Colors?

This article is from the WeChat official account "Bohu Finance", author: Lu Fei. It is published by 36Kr with authorization.