Is Apple's golden age coming to an end?

How the mighty stumble. Apple, which bestrides the tech sector like the Colossus of Rhodes, has revealed an iPhone-shaped crack in its financial facade. Admittedly it's the type of problem most companies would kill for: sales growth for Apple's all-singing, all-dancing cash-cow of a phone slowed to 0.4% in the last quarter of 2015, yet the company still made a $18.4 billion profit – the largest ever recorded by a public corporation.

But this is Apple we're talking about. The slightest change in their fortunes is poured over by journalists, fans and economists alike. When Tim Cook sneezes it causes a storm in the financial markets.

All of which makes it easy to forget that they were once the tech industry equivalent of the cool, quirky kid with green hair and a nose ring – vaguely admired for being different, but not really taken as seriously as the sober-suited Microsoft gang. They only began to extend their reach beyond a loyal army of mac users when their messianic co-founder, Steve Jobs, returned to lead the company.

Since his death Apple seems to have lost some of its swagger and knack for innovation. Bloggers and journalists have begun to speculate that its golden era may be drawing to a close. Android fanboys are circling the comment sections, loudly proclaiming ITZ OVER 4 U APPLE SHEEPLES! But it would be foolish to write-off a company that's consistently proved the naysayers wrong. Which is largely down to something that seems built into Apple's DNA: the ability to merge cutting-edge technology with beautiful design.

If we have reached peak iPhone, Apple will no longer be able to rely as heavily on the device for generating revenue. It’ll have to turn to its 'Other Products' category, which includes the Apple TV, Watch and iPod line (lumped together when Apple reports its earnings to hide less than stellar sales growth or even a precipitous drop). Or perhaps it’ll whack on its innovation hat and produce another iPod or iPhone – the type of gadget that disrupts existing markets and creates new product lines.

To be fair it tried that recently with the Apple Watch, which landed to more of a collective 'meh' than a 'I will sell my own children into slavery to own one of these shiny wonders'. The car Apple is rumoured to be working on is a far more interesting proposition – could it do for electric cars what the iPod did for MP3 players? The recent hire of VR expert Doug Bowman also suggests Apple are working on some sort of VR device. For all we know they might even be cooking up a hoverboard in their secret design lab – one that doesn't explode and only comes in white.

It's worth remembering that 1 billion Apple devices are now in active use worldwide – a staggering figure. So while we might be witnessing the beginning of the end of Apple's golden era, it'll take more than a drop in iPhone sales to topple this tech giant.