Last year, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said that he expects Apple to sell 10 percent more iPhones in Q1 2020 compared to the year-ago quarter. In contrast, sales had previously witnessed a decline because of the rising prices for the last two years. That changed in 2019 with the comparatively more affordable iPhone 11 and it will likely be joined by the iPhone SE 2 in the coming months to keep the momentum going. Apparently, Apple is also ramping up production to keep up with the projected increase in demand.
15 Million iPhone SE 2 Units to Be Part of the Production Increase; Rest Will Be Older Models
A new report published by Nikkei claims that the Cupertino giant has asked suppliers to manufacture 80 million iPhones during the first half of the year, an increase of around 10 percent when compared to last year. Out of those, 65 million will apparently be older iPhones, mostly from the iPhone 11 family, and 15 million will be the iPhone SE 2. Evidently, this year is a lot busier than in 2019.
The price of the iPhone 11 starts at $699, which is $50 less than 2018’s iPhone XR. The iPhone SE 2 is expected to fall within the sub-$400 mark and this new pricing strategy is reportedly what the California-based giant thinks will help it drive up sales in emerging markets. Moreover, Apple also has an opportunity to lure away some of Huawei’s customers, as the company is currently lying low because of the U.S. ban.
However, some reports warn that the production schedule of the iPhone SE 2 might get affected because of the Coronavirus as manufacturers may shut down factories if the epidemic worsens as most of the company’s iPhone production is in China. The virus is also expected to affect China’s economy, which can in turn adversely affect iPhone sales in the region too.
As experts the world over scramble to find a way to control the outbreak, we can affect the situation to improve in the coming months. Later on, during the second half of 2020, Apple is widely expected to launch its 5G-ready iPhone 12 family, which will supposedly boost sales even further.
News Source: Nikkei
