iPhone 4S delay caused Q3 smartphone slump

Smartphone sales in the third quarter slid for the first time in the US. According to Morgan Keegan analyst Tim McCourt, the slump may have been caused by the delay of the iPhone 4S launch. Effects on iPhone sales by consumers holding out for the next-gen device were expected, but the wait also affected Android, BlackBerry, and Windows Phone sales.

Instead of a summer launch, Apple presented the white iPhone 4 and delayed their iPhone 4S for fall. This along with rumors of an iPhone 5 have caused disappointing earnings results for Apple last quarter as customers waited for the major hardware update. But following the release of the iPhone 4S, the company is seeing a slingshot effect with record sales of the new handset.

However, Android sales also slid despite having several major new releases last quarter, which McCourt sees as a sign that many of the consumers holding out were waiting to switch to the new iPhone. He also believes that there may be over saturation of very high end smartphones and that carriers need to focus on offering more competitive plans, not just devices.

[via PC Mag]