John Ternus marked his first earnings as Apple CEO with iPhone Duo shortages and a rebuilt Siri taking center stage. He's vague about when Apple will make enough iPhone Duo units, though.
Apple CEO John Ternus has addressed supply constraints and display concerns surrounding the company's first foldable iPhone. He also discussed the rebuilt Siri, which now handles 2.5 billion requests daily.
The iPhone Duo sold out quickly online and drew lines at Apple stores in October. Apple is increasing efforts to meet demand.
"Duo is constrained as of today," Ternus told Reuters. "The ramp is going well, and we're working hard to get it to as many customers as quickly as possible, but at this point, we're not able to predict when supply and demand will be in balance."
Some iPhone Duo customers have reported cracked screens since the device launched. Ternus said "a very small percentage" of devices had been returned for display issues. Apple is replacing affected units.
An AI-driven surge in memory demand has pushed component costs higher. Apple recently raised iPhone 17 prices by $100 and increased MacBook prices.
"We did see higher memory costs as compared to the June quarter, which was partially offset by the benefit of carrying inventory and lower costs on certain non-memory components," Ternus told Reuters. "These price increases provided some offset."
Ternus also reflected on Apple's ambitions for its revamped voice assistant. The new, more personal Siri was initially slated for release in 2024 and faced repeated delays.
"Now we have the Siri that we always wanted, which we really built from the ground up," Ternus said.
Apple reported its Q4 earnings on Monday, November 2. The quarter earned $114.5 billion.
