Demand for the iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 has reportedly surged in the last few months, despite the lasting financial uncertainty caused by the pandemic. It turns out that Apple’s first 5G handsets are enticing consumers to upgrade, while 5G rollout is expected to cover one billion people by the end of the year. By 2026, that number is expected to be 3.5 billion, so a lot of buyers of the new iPhone 12 are early adopters.
According to a Nikkei report, Apple has increased its orders of the latest iPhone at manufacturers, as it expects sales to reach as high as 96 million units for the first half of 2021.
To put things in perspective, Apple plans to sell between 20 to 30 percent more iPhones in 2021 than it did in 2019, which comes out at about 230 million units, including the new iPhone 12 series, the iPhone 11 and the iPhone SE. However, that depends on overcoming several supply chain issues that have been popping up as of late.
Apple expects to hit these kinds of sales levels next year. The full year will of course include next year’s models, but analysts aren’t currently expecting anything dramatic there.
“We are a bit conservative about its next new iPhone lineup which is set to be released in the second half of 2021,” said GF Securities analyst Jeff Pu. “We don’t see the excitement for the new model in 2021 after its first 5G iPhone lineup this year.”
That could change depending on the headline features. Recent reports have raised the possibility of an always-on display thanks to screen technology borrowed from the Apple Watch, and one of them suggested next year’s Pro models may have ProMotion too.
A recent report from analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that next year’s iPhone launch is expected to return to the traditional September timeframe.
