Ever-reliable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo’s latest investor note claims that the new iPhone SE is selling better than expected, with sales predicted to hit 12-14 million for Apple’s fiscal Q3. The estimated sales were 10 million (via AppleInsider).
While the appeal of the iPhone SE is obvious to tech circles, Apple estimation did not necessarily account for the wider appeal of the ‘affordable’ device to consumers as they opt for a cheaper iPhone upgrade considering the coronavirus pandemic. Not everyone can afford Apple’s iPhone 11 line, and now the SE massively undercuts those phones but packs in the same processor.
The report suggests that people on phones like the iPhone 6 and 6s in particular are seeing the inherent value in the upgrade to the new SE and the appeal of the A13 chip that is unaffordable for many buyers in the £1,000+ iPhone 11 Pro and the £729 iPhone 11.
Kuo added that “Apple’s service and content businesses could continue to grow thanks to the market share gain of the device equipped with the best computing power when facing the consumption-downgrade challenge.” All new iPhone SE purchases come with a free year’s subscription to Apple TV+, and might encourage more people to start paying for Apple Arcade.
Kuo also stated that economic and supply chain issues are the reasons that a potential iPhone SE Plus will be shelved until 2021. The original SE did not gain a larger model, but thanks to the iPhone SE’s resemblance to the iPhone 8, it is rumoured an iPhone SE Plus could easily fill in the iPhone 8 Plus’ absence from the iPhone line up.
At the time of writing, it’s the first time Apple has not sold a ‘Plus’ model of a phone since the iPhone 6 Plus debuted in 2014. It started using the ‘Max’ moniker with the iPhone XS Max in 2018.
