Cupertino goes on with its 2018 iPhone marketing blitz

Dec 30, 2018 11:50 GMT  ·  By

It’s not a secret that sales of 2018 iPhones are significantly below expectations, and now Citi Research returns with a new forecast, projecting an even bigger drop for the most expensive model launched this year.

In a note to investors obtained by Reuters, the analyst firm reduces its sales expectations for the iPhone from 50 million units to 45 million units in this quarter.

The reason, analyst William Yang explains, is the weak demand for the iPhone XS Max. Yang says the most expensive iPhone ever released by Apple isn’t selling as anticipated, so Citi Research lowered its forecast for this particular model by no less than 48 percent.

This means Apple is now expected to sell nearly half the number of iPhone XS Max units it was originally projected to ship during this quarter.

iPhone XS Max is the most expensive iPhone ever released by Apple, as IT starts in the United States at $1,099 and goes all the way up to $1,449 for the top-of-the-range configuration with 512GB storage.

New iPhone XR ad

Meanwhile, Apple is pushing hard for another 2018 iPhone model to sell better around the world. The company continues its marketing push for the iPhone XR with a new ad called “Color Flood” whose purpose is to highlight the variety of colors that are available on this particular model.

As compared to iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR is the most affordable iPhone launched this year, with pricing beginning at $749 in the United States.

Apple originally expected iPhone XR to be the best-selling model of the entire lineup, with orders at suppliers said to account for more than 50 percent of all Apple smartphones.

However, due to weak demand in the last couple of months, mostly caused by the high price, Apple adjusted production at least twice, cutting orders substantially in order to align the inventory with sales worldwide.