Analysts say that Apple is on pace to set a new record for iPhone sales this year
Wedbush says Apple is on track to sell a record 240 to 250 million iPhone units this year
The Wedbush duo are forecasting that Apple will top Wall Street’s consensus figure which calls for 220 million phones to be sold this year. The analysts’ report also notes that the iPhone could be in the midst of a supercycle. “Importantly, with our estimation that 350 million of 950 million iPhones worldwide are currently in the window of an upgrade opportunity, we believe is translating into an unprecedented supercycle upgrade cycle for Cook & Co. Geographically speaking, demand in China looks strong coming out of the Chinese New Year and remains a linchpin to our Apple bull thesis. We also believe ASPs are continuing to trend higher on a positive mix of iPhone Pro versions and Pro Max shipped, which bodes well for the next few quarters with this top-line tailwind.”
The Wedbush analysts also expect strong demand to continue for the iPhone 13 (or iPhone 12s). Based on initial supply chain orders supposedly placed by Apple, the company plans on building approximately 100 million iPhone 13 units at first. That would be 25% higher than the 80 million iPhone 12 handsets that the pair believe that Apple had built to kick off production of the iPhone 12 series.
And there could be some new features for the iPhone 13 series that might attract consumers. For example, most analysts expect Apple to include a 120Hz ProMotion always-on display. This would allow the screen to update 120 times each second delivering buttery smooth scrolling and animation. Since rapid refresh rates normally drain the battery quickly, Apple could include low-temperature polycrystalline oxide (LTPO) backplane technology. This would make the refresh rate variable in order to save battery life. Content that benefits from a 120Hz refresh rate would refresh on the display at that rate, while more static content such as emails and texts would refresh at a much slower pace.
We expect Apple to introduce four new models (the “mini” will apparently get another shot to redeem itself) in about six months.
