Apple had a remarkable year in terms of sales in the last quarter of 2019, thanks in part to the overwhelming response to the relatively lower priced iPhone 11 and the price-drooped iPhone XR from the previous year. Now the Cupertino, California based tech giant is expected to launch what is being touted to be its first affordable iPhone since the iPhone SE back from 2016.
Apple is expected to launch the iPhone SE 2 aka the iPhone 9 in March this year and it seems the iPhone has already set some high expectations from its upcoming budget iPhone.
Apple plans to see six million iPhone SE 2 units
According to a report by AppleInsider citing an investors note by Cowen analyst and Managing Director Krish Sankar, Apple will reportedly produce 46 million iPhones in the first quarter of 2020, and six million of these will be iPhone SE 2 units which will be produced between January 1 and March 31.
The latest information is in sync with supply earlier chain rumours that predict the iPhone SE 2, which is likely to be called the iPhone 9, will become official in February and hit the stores in March.
iPhone SE 2 will be priced at $475
Furthermore, Sankar estimates the iPhone SE 2 will sell for about $475, which isn't too surprising as various sources have predicted the pricing to be in the $400 to $500 range.
He also likens the iPhone SE 2 builds to be equal to the first iPhone SE production numbers when launching back in 2016, further suggesting that the upcoming iPhone SE 2 will account for 12 percent of all iPhone production in Q2 2020. The rest will mostly be the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max units.
Apple sold 70 million iPhones in its first quarter
Sankar believes that Apple will produce another 43 million iPhones in the second quarter which will be Apple's Q3. The report also claims that Apple produced around 70 million iPhone during its first quarter (from October 1 to December 30), and of these 52 million were iPhone 11 and iPhone 11 Pro models. These production numbers testify the higher demand for the iPhone 11 series at launch.
However, with the launch of the 5G powered iPhone 12 series set to take place in September 2020, Sankar predicts Apple will ship a total of 195 million iPhone in Apple's fiscal year October 1, 2019, to September 29, 2020. Apple's first 5G iPhones will come at the beginning of the company's 2021 fiscal year which starts in September and their launch will hugely drive the sales leading into Apple's 2021 fiscal year.
Huawei will cut-down its production
Meanwhile, Sankar also predicts that Chinese smartphone maker Huawei's smartphone production will decline 10 percent compared to the same quarter last year (y-o-y), and Samsung's will remain almost unchanged.
iPhone SE 2 - Apple's long-awaited foot soldier
The iPhone SE 2 is rumoured to look identical to the iPhone 8 and could come with a 4.7-inch display and Touch ID with possibly an improved battery. However, the biggest USP of the long-anticipated iPhone will be the fact that it will be powered by the same A13 Bionic processor that powers the current generation iPhones.
But if Apple wants to make the iPhone SE 2 seem relevant in the cut-throat market smartphone market of 2020, it will have to price it very wisely, especially considering that we will be seeing a lot of high-spec phones with 5G support coming this year for under $500.
