Staff Writer
According to sources familiar with the situation, Apple Inc. is asking suppliers to create about 85 million iPhone 15 units this year, nearly on par with the previous year.
Despite uncertainty in the world economy and an anticipated fall in the entire smartphone market, the Cupertino, California-based corporation hopes to maintain constant shipment levels. The people, who wished to remain anonymous because the targets are private, said that it is expected to boost overall income because Apple is thinking about hiking the price for Pro models.
The success of Apple, the most valuable firm in the world, has a ripple effect on the global economy, generating revenue for tens of thousands of suppliers and supporting millions of jobs from the US and China to Vietnam and India. Its shares have increased by over 50%.
its market capitalization to $3 trillion this year.
The production schedule of Apple is closely examined due to the company’s extensive influence. Some of the biggest companies in the world, including Samsung Electronics Co., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., and Foxconn Technology Group, rely on the iPhone business to boost growth and margins. In order to direct investor attention to more stable businesses like the App Store, Apple said that it would stop releasing exact shipment data in 2018.
Due to a production issue with CMOS image sensors, the business had to reduce this year’s prediction for its future entry-level phones by around 2 million, but it made up for the drop by increasing orders for more expensive Pro models, according to the sources.
There has also been a little snag with the new iPhone screens, but the problem should be resolved in a week or two and won’t significantly affect production, according to one of the sources. The screen problems were previously mentioned in the information.
An email requesting comment from an Apple official went unanswered. According to a previous forecast from DigiTimes, the first 83 million to 85 million new iPhones could be sold.
Apple’s initial shipment target of 90 million units per year in the previous two years was slightly lower than the company’s prediction of 85 million units this year. But because to a chip shortfall in 2021 and subsequently extended Covid regulations in China, the US corporation was unable to meet those objectives severely hampered manufacturing in 2022.
While numerous rival smartphone manufacturers that produce devices with the Android operating system struggle, Apple’s relatively stable financial situation stands in contrast.
According to Counterpoint Research, phone sales have fallen for eight straight quarters, including an 8% decline in the June quarter. Vivo and Xiaomi, two Chinese Android manufacturers, both had reductions of over 10%.
Despite a 2% decline in sales, according to Counterpoint’s estimations, Apple’s market share increased to 17% due to the continued growth in demand for smartphones costing $600 or more.
In the research, Counterpoint analysts said that Apple was “riding this “premiumization” wave, reaching record shares in numerous new markets that are typically not thought of as its core markets.” “India is a prime example; in Q2 2023, it grew by 50% YoY.”
