The same insider who said a few days ago that Apple will release a 4.7-inch iPhone SE 2 in the first quarter of the year is back with one more prediction. Ming-Chi Kuo, who’s been accurate with his notes about unreleased Apple products, says the iPhone 11 series and the new iPhone SE handset will boost sales in the first quarter of 2020.
Kuo said in a new research note seen by MacRumors that the combined shipments of iPhone 11 and iPhone SE 2 will increase iPhone sales during the first quarter of 2020 by 10%:
We expect that combined iPhone shipments in 1Q20 will grow around 10% YoY thanks to the iPhone 11’s replacement demand boosted by more affordable prices and iPhone SE2’s shipments starting in 1Q20. We estimate that iPhone shipment in 1Q20 will be 45–50mn units (iPhone 11 Pro series and iPhone 11 to be 13–15 and 22–24mn units, respectively), which is better than around 42mn units of iPhone shipments in 1Q19 (iPhone XS series and iPhone XR to be around 12 and 14mn units, respectively).
The analyst expects strong iPhone 11 sales in the first quarter of 2020, with both the iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro expected to perform better than their predecessors during the same period this year — that’s the iPhone XR and iPhone XS phones, respectively.
Kuo also said that Apple instructed suppliers to produce more components for the iPhone to ensure that shipments going into the next year meet demand. A report last week said that Apple already increased iPhone 11 production following great demand at launch, with Apple expected to make up to eight million additional units.
Kuo also noted that iPhone 11 Pro shipments in 2019 will be at 37-40 million units, with the iPhone 11 reaching 36-40 million units. The iPhone 11 Pro estimate is lower than iPhone XS sales for 2018 because of a tighter supply caused by “increased production difficulties” of some specific iPhone 11 Pro components. Apple is expected to sell more iPhone 11 units this year compared to the iPhone XR’s performance in 2018, mainly because the iPhone XR started selling a few weeks after the iPhone XS and XS Max.
The iPhone SE 2 is rumored to feature an iPhone 8 design, but pack iPhone 11-grade specs, including the A13 chip that powers the iPhone 11 series. Thus, the phone would be more appealing to iPhone owners still using the iPhone 6, a device that’s not upgradeable to iOS 13, and lacks access to Apple Arcade as a result. An actual launch date for the affordable handset isn’t available, but if the leak is accurate, we’d expect the handset to drop late in Q1 2020, likely in March.
