You may remember that, a few months ago, some companies estimated that in 2016 Apple would have to deal with a decline in sales. Well, it seems that these predictions have come true.

We can define it as an unprecedented decline, not so much for the severity of the losses, but because literally the iPhone had never experienced any; since the launch of the first smartphone, the iPhone 3, device sales have always recorded growth every year.

According to data released by the analysis company TrendForce, in the first quarter of 2016, Apple sold 42 million devices, 43.8% less than the last quarter of 2015, where the sales volume was 75 million, and 24% less than the same quarter last year.

But what caused this decline?

It shouldn’t be surprising that the smartphone market is now saturated; competition among major manufacturers has been so fierce in recent years that it has led to many devices from many brands, at different prices and with different options, reaching all consumer segments. Despite this, however, Apple has always dominated the competition, standing out for the excellence of its iPhones.

For this reason, the main reason TrendForce attributes to this decline is the lack of innovation in the latest models; 3D Touch, the feature Apple had focused on for the new generations, was not considered truly innovative and distinctive.

In reality, the company itself was also prepared for this sales decline; in fact, in January, the Apple CEO had anticipated it, emphasizing that the loss would not be significant.

The analysis company’s forecasts say that, in the end, 2016 will close with a 10% drop in smartphone sales compared to 2015. However, we are only at the beginning of the year, and maybe the company will pull out an ace up its sleeve with the new iPhone 7, allowing it to close this period with a sales increase.