14 DAY TRIAL // Apple’s trio of iPhones landing this year, as well as the 2019 generation, could help the company reach sales of nearly half a billion units, according to one analyst.
Gene Munster says Cupertino is projected to ship 220 million smartphones this year and another 220 million units in 2019, bringing the overall count to 440 million by December 31, 2019.
High pricing won’t be an issue for customers, the analyst notes, and he estimates that the replacement cycle will continue to be stable.
“If, for example, the entire iPhone base holds onto their phones for an additional 3 months in a given quarter, that would effectively reduce the iPhones sold in that quarter by 18M units or 8%. This could obviously turn a stable business into one that is declining at near double digits,” the analyst explains.
Apple continues to have a loyal user base, and Munster explains that approximately 90 percent of existing iPhone owners plan to stick with the device in the coming years. This is living proof that Android still can’t steal Apple’s customers, despite “feature-rich competitors” specifically setting this goal.
Upgrading, a must
Upgrading iPhones to newer generations will be a must for existing customers, and this is one of the reasons Apple can hope to maintain strong sales in the coming years. There are around 800 million iPhones in use today, but the more time using just one device, the bigger the likelihood of upgrading being required.
“We also know that the smartphone is the most important technology a consumer owns and even absent of compelling new features, upgrading is a necessity based on degradation of battery life, screens, and processing power,” Munster notes.
Apple prepares the 2018 iPhone lineup to target multiple categories of buyers, including those who aren’t willing to spend a fortune on a smartphone. A more affordable LCD iPhone is in the works and it could launch alongside the iPhone X successor and a Plus-sized iPhone X.