ts decision to stop breaking out numbers of handsets sold, however, is jarring to investors who have, over the past decade, come to evaluate the company based on how many phones its sells along with how much its sells them for. Apple, however, apparently does not judge itself that way, at least not to the degree that Wall Street analysts have.

Instead, judging from its new devices, Apple is focusing on price and profits rather than sheer volume. That makes sense in a world where the basic functionality of the hardware Apple offers can be found in numerous other devices made for and sold for much less, whether by China’s Xiaomi and Huawei or Korea’s LG and Samsung, or many others. Apple is losing market share in China and other parts of the developing world, which are still in earlier stages of mass smartphone adoption. The one exception may be tablets, where Apple’s iPad retains a unique combination of form and functionality. Whether or not the world is ready to use tablets as a replacement for laptops and computers, however, remains an open question.

And so Apple is gravitating to its strength—selling a commoditized product at a very high price as a part of a semi-open (or partly closed) ecosystem of services. Indeed, another change in how the company plans to present its financial picture is a more detailed breakdown of its “services” segment, which includes iTunes, the App Store, and ApplePay, all of which presumably will be a greater share of its revenue and profit.

Sourced through Scoop.it from: www.wired.com