Despite Initial Demand, Apple’s iPhone 7 Is Unlikely to Outsell the iPhone 6s, Analyst Predicts
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While the actual sales figures for Apple’s hot-off-the-presses iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus won’t be revealed until the company’s upcoming conference call at the end of October, well-connected and historically accurate KGI securities analyst, Ming Chi Kuo, is already making some bold predictions about the ultimate fate of Apple’s hot new smartphone.
In a conference call with investors late last week, Kuo suggested that while the iPhone 7 has so far experienced a great demand — citing how the device sold out over the launch weekend, it was highly unlikely that the Cupertino-company’s 2016 flagship would ultimately outsell the previous generation, iPhone 6s. Perhaps a bit contrary to this prediction, however, Kuo did go on to suggest that Apple would more than likely ship between 70 and 75 million iPhone 7 units — up from his previous estimates of between 60 and 65 million — with orders for both the standard, iPhone 7 and the larger, iPhone 7 Plus, being evenly split down the middle.
Additionally, Kuo went on to cite a number of extraneous variables that may factor in to the benefit of Apple’s ultimate sales figures — albeit some of which come at the expense of the company’s direct competitors. For instance, Samsung’s major battery explosion debacle, which is believed to ultimately have cost the South Korean tech-giant a whopping $1.5 billion, has more than likely resulted in many would-be Galaxy Note 7 adopters having to reconsider their options — either because they had to return the device at the recommendation of their wireless carrier, or simply out of reluctance to buy a smartphone crippled by the bad publicity in regards to its spontaneous combustion.
Kuo also noted that the shortage of iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus units at launch — and thus, the above average wait times that many customers are encountering, are not necessarily related to the device’s perceived demand. The all-new Jet Black iPhone 7, for instance, is experiencing rather low yields — compared to its lighter colored counterparts — simply because the process of manufacturing the color is a bit more complicated than Apple originally expected.
Also worth noting is that the iPhone 7 was available in a total of 28 countries at launch this year — up from just 12 countries in which the iPhone 6s first debuted last fall. And so the sheer distribution of whatever launch supply Apple was working with was considerably more dispersed than it was last year.
As we mentioned, however, we’ll know a lot more about the actual success of the iPhone 7 come the company’s October conference call.
Did you order an iPhone 7 yet? Let use know in the comments!
