Apple To Ship 75M-80M New iPhones By Year End

One analyst believes that Apple will ship 75-80 million new iPhones by the end of 2018.

Last week, Apple unveiled three new iPhones, as expected. There was the release of the two next generation X phones, iPhone XS and the iPhone XS Max, both of which leverage OLED capacity.  And, in the interest of “bringing [its] technology to as many people as possible,” Apple also unveiled the iPhone XR, which uses an LCD screen instead of an OLED. Apple said the XR is designed to offer the iPhone X experience on an LCD device, right down to things like haptic touch and face ID.

According to 9to5Mac, analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that while preorders for the XS are “lackluster,” he believes in the strength of XS Max demand and the iPhone XR launch in October.

Kuo says that XS Max is highly anticipated in China because of its gold case option, larger screen and the addition of dual-SIM capabilities. As a result, the Max is expected to make up about 30 percent of new iPhone shipments.

The XR is also expected to perform well, with Kuo expecting it to comprise the majority of shipments, between 55-60 percent of sales. However, there will be weaker demand for the 5.8-inch XS.

Apple also introduced its fourth generation of the Apple Watch last week, which is available as either a GPS or 4G version. Kuo noted that TF International Securities raised its estimates for the Apple Watch Series 4, with the new models taking about 55 percent share, alongside the more affordable Series 3 watches. In fact, the demand for Apple Watch Series 4 is better than initial expectations due to “innovative functions” like the electrocardiogram.

Apple Watch shipments are anticipated to reach 18 million units in 2018. Kuo added that sales could be even stronger if Apple gained regulatory approval for ECG features in regions beyond the United States.