Are people falling out of love with Apple’s iPhones?

Shares in Apple fell by 5% on Monday as two of the tech giant’s suppliers downgraded their profit expectations following poor iPhone sales.

Apple shares closed on around $194 (£150) - more than 15% below their peak in October - wiping a total $40bn (£35bn) off the California-based company’s value, the BBC reports.

The drop came after Japan Display, one of Apple’s screen suppliers, announced it was lowering its profit expectations owing to “volatile customer demand” for iPhones.

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Tech firm Lumentum, which supplies Apple face-scanning systems, then downgraded its sales and profit outlook, after a leading customer reduced its shipments as a result of underwhelming sales of the handsets.

Apple announced earlier this month that it will no longer share figures on how many devices it has sold, and will only reveal quarterly revenue and profit reports, reports Alphr.

As such, there is no concrete evidence that iPhone sales have fallen since last year. However, the tech news site says disappointing profit figures suggest smartphone sales are “remaining stagnant or dropping”.

What has caused the drop in sales?

The increase in the prices of Apple’s flagship handsets is one factor being blamed for the slump, with many consumers turning to more affordable options, according to Forbes.

The news site notes that the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, launched last year, are selling well following price reductions, despite the arrival of the new £749 iPhone XR, £999 XS and £1,099 XS Max.

Are people falling out of love with Apple?

Probably not. Investor news site Seeking Alpha ranks Apple third in the world for smartphone sales, behind Chinese gadget maker Huawei and South Korea’s Samsung.

However, while Apple is still going strong, its status has slipped since the end of 2017, when it led the market ahead of Huawei.