“Despite what turned out to be disappointing sales of Apple’s newer iPhones this year, the company is ramping up production of the next models like never before, according to analysts John Donovan and Steve Mullane with the boutique research firm BlueFin Research Partners,” Tiernan Ray reports for Barron’s. “‘Despite angst surrounding the 2018 September releases, one common thread we continually uncover is the lack of concern for overall demand for 2018-2019,’ write the analysts. ‘In fact, we continue to see potentially larger 2019 builds (not vetted) due to the lack of upgrade activity over the past few years resulting in a pent-up demand for the new devices.'”
“Without citing sources, the duo write that Apple is planning for 91 million units to be built, combined, of three new models of iPhone in the latter two calendar quarters of this year, to be followed by another 92 million units in the first two quarters of next year. The iPhone X would presumably be discontinued in Q3 of this year, and the cheaper ‘iPhone SE’ would also go away,” Ray reports. “That 92 million units in the first two quarters of next year is ‘far larger than normal cycles,’ they write.”
MacDailyNews Take: Yes, because it’s time for users to graduate from old iPhones with Home buttons en masse.
“The three new models to which they refer are described by the analysts as the ‘iPhone 9,’ presumed to be an LCD-based phone, and two different models of OLED-based devices, ‘iPhone 11 and 11 Plus,'” Ray reports. “The analysts opine the newer models might get people off the fence: ‘The iPhone 11 Plus should satisfy those unhappy with the iPhone X due to size concerns, while the iPhone 9 device should satisfy more budget-conscious buyers and the aforementioned extension of the iPhone 8 model builds will round out a fairly extensive line-up. We continue to hear that upgrade activity over the past.'”
Mi Mix 2 with Full Active LCD displayMacDailyNews Take: Yeesh. Those are some awful names. Who’s going to buy an “iPhone 9” a year after “iPhone X (10)” launched? Nobody. This is the perfect year for Apple to fix their awful iPhone naming scheme once and for all.
Again, name ’em like you name Macs, Apple:
• iPhone (2018)
• iPhone Plus (2018)
• iPhone Pro (2018)
The iPhone (2018) features a 5.8-inch OLED display. The iPhone Plus (2018) features a 6.1-inch Full Active LCD with extremely narrow bezels. The iPhone Pro (2018) features a mammoth 6.5-inch OLED display and Apple Pencil support.
