Apple cut its sales estimate When Apple cut its estimate for the first-quarter sales in 2019 recently, market convulsed. Some analysts almost entirely blamed the economic slowdown in China for Apple's weaker than expected performance, but the real picture is perhaps far more complex. To start with, the slowdown of smartphone sales does not reflect lost of luster with consumers, quite the contrary. It is the result of saturation. For decades, customers have voted with their wallets to make the smartphone one of the greatest products in history. Making market more efficient, compensating for poor infrastructure in developing countries and boost growth, these magic gadgets have been so widely adopted that there is much less scope to sell them to first-time buyers. One more fundamental reason lies in the lengthening replacement cycles as new models offer only marginal improvements. Innovation frequently gets bogged down as extra bells and whistles no longer make a deep impression, as with other mature technologies from cars to washing machines. Many phones are used for longer than three years, often refurbished or as hand-me-downs. For all but the most obsessive gadget fans, the slowing treadmill of upgrades comes as a welcome relief. Yes, the financial markets have been hit seriously by Apple's shock warning. But step back and look at the bigger picture. Apple's pain is humanity's gain. The slowing sales is bad news for Apple, but for the rest of human society, it is a welcome sign that a transformative technology has become almost universal.