Respected analyst Ming-Chi Kuo thinks the iPhone XR is going to be a massive smash hit for Apple — and it seems everyone is being taken by surprise by how in-demand it will be.
In a recent note to investors, Kuo increased his estimate for fourth-quarter iPhone XR shipments by 10 percent. Instead of 33 million to 35 million iPhone XR units over the quarter, he now thinks Apple’s suppliers will ship out 36 million to 38 million units.
Overall, Kuo think Apple will ship up to 83 million iPhones during the quarter. That’s an increase from his previous estimate of 75 million to 80 million units. During the same period last year, Apple sold 77.3 million iPhones.
While shipments aren’t the same thing as sales, Apple is typically very good when it comes to this kind of forecasting. In other words, if Apple ramps up production of a particular model, it’s because there’s evidence to back it up.
iPhone XR: An unexpectedly popular phone?
Kuo’s report isn’t the first time we’ve heard that Apple may be increasing iPhone XR orders for the quarter. Following the media event unveiling the new iPhones, Apple reportedly revised the ratio of orders for its next-gen smartphones, making the iPhone XR half of all new iPhones manufactured.
Apple opted to give the iPhone XR the main spot at last month’s media event, suggesting the company knew it was onto a big winner. However, this strikes me as the first time Apple’s cheaper, lowest-spec iPhone is the one with the most buzz.
The iPhone XR rocks the same powerful internals as the XS series, but comes with just a single-lens camera on the back. It also features an LCD display instead of the OLED one found in the iPhone XS and XS Max models.
A couple of big things make iPhone XR exciting, though. For starters, it comes in a choice of black, white, red, blue, yellow and coral color options. It’s also considerably cheaper than the iPhone XS devices, with iPhone XR prices starting at $749.
The handsets will be available for preorder this Friday, although iPhone Upgrade Program customers should start the preapproval process now. The iPhone XR will ship on October 26.
Source: CNBC
