14 DAY TRIAL // Sales of Apple’s iPhone lineup is expected to increase in the coming months, according to a recent analyst forecast, as the company managed to get past the difficult times after the launch of the 2018 generation.
UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri explains in a note to investors that there are already signs of iPhone sales going up in China, previously one of Apple’s most challenging markets.
However, Arcuri notes that Apple is close to clearing out inventory in China, so the production output is slowly returning to normal values. This is, in turn, good news for suppliers, who have previously been hit hard by the poor demand for the iPhone as well.
The analyst now expects Apple to sell 34.5 million iPhones in the June quarter, up from 32.5 million.
Older iPhones selling strong
However, the recovery will mostly be driven by previous iPhone models, and not the 2018 generation. The high prices remain a major drawback for customers, so iPhone 8 and iPhone 7 are likely to be the models selling in higher numbers in the next few months.
“While March mix is still bad, the tone in the supply chain is starting to improve and price reductions in China may be starting to clear channel inventory,” Arcuri is quoted as saying. “Procurement estimates for XR are actually now up Q/Q in June – atypical for this late in a ‘new’ model cycle (good near-term for QRVO), but reflective of inventory burn.”
What’s more worrying for Apple is that customers willing to spend more money on a smartphone are more inclined to choose between Huawei and Samsung, rather than to buy an iPhone. As per the cited source, HSBC analysts previously estimated a decline for Apple.
The Cupertino-based tech giant will roll out new iPhones in September, and the company is expected to unveil successors to all 2018 models, including an upgraded iPhone XR.