Is Apple nearing a point where it can’t keep setting iPhone sales records? That seems to be the consensus among some analysts, who expect the iPhone 6s to sell very well, but not well enough to set a new Christmas-quarter record for Apple this year. The reasons are varied, including a perceived lack of hot new iPhone 6s features that convince people en masse to buy the new device.
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Apple sold 74.5 million iPhones during the December quarter last year, fueled by strong iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus sales.
A KGI Securities analyst said recently that the iPhone 6s family won’t be able to help Apple get past that milestone for the same period this year, Apple Daily reports. According to the analyst, Apple will sell between 65 million and 75 million total iPhone units next quarter, including the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus of course.
One of the factors that might explain a potential fourth-quarter iPhone sales decline is the current state of China’s economy. China is one of the main drivers behind the stellar iPhone 6 sales, but that might not be enough for Apple to shatter its iPhone 6 prior sales record.
The second factor mentioned in the report is Apple’s Force Touch feature, which might not be appealing enough for many potential iPhone buyers to choose the iPhone 6s over other devices.
As Phone Arena notes, this isn’t the first analyst who expects Apple’s Christmas iPhone sales to go flat. Of course, that still means Apple will sell more handsets during the period than most, if not all other smartphone makers. In early June, Wells Fargo also said that the iPhone 6s would likely not set a sales record this winter.
Meanwhile, other reports have indicated that Apple is still preparing for record iPhone 6s sales, readying production ahead of the busy holiday season.
