Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claimed that Apple would grab the market with boosted sales of iPhones in the first quarter of 2020. Acknowledging the strong demand for the replacement of the iPhone 11 series devices, Apple will launch the iPhone SE2. The forthcoming ‘budget’ iPhone is anticipated to raise sales by at least 10 percent.
Kuo, in a research note, stated:
“We expect that combined iPhone shipments in 1Q20 will grow around 10% YoY thanks to the iPhone 11’s replacement demand boosted by more affordable prices and iPhone SE2’s shipments starting in 1Q20. We estimate that iPhone shipment in 1Q20 will be 45–50mn units (iPhone 11 Pro series and iPhone 11 to be 13–15 and 22–24mn units, respectively), which is better than around 42mn units of iPhone shipments in 1Q19 (iPhone XS series and iPhone XR to be around 12 and 14mn units, respectively).”
Reportedly, the iPhone SE 2 would have an iPhone 8 design but would pack in 11-grade specs of iPhone, along with the A13 chip that powers the series11 iPhones. Therefore, the SE2 would be more appealing to iPhone users with the iPhone 6; the iPhone6 is not upgradeable to iOS 13 and lacks access to Apple Arcade.
Kuo stated,
“We believe that iPhone SE2 will meet more users’ demand and increase iPhone’s market share because of the more affordable price.”
The official launch date for the SE2 hasn’t been disclosed yet, but if the report is accurate, it’s expected to be in the market by the latter half (likely in March, a slot that has been a regular for ‘educational’ and ‘second-tier’ devices in the past few years) of the first quarter of 2020.
Currently, Apple sells the iPhone 8 for $449, so the iPhone SE2, which would be priced around $399, could provide more at less cost (if Apple follows the same pricing pattern).
As per reports, Apple has allegedly instructed suppliers to produce components for the upcoming iPhone in larger quantities, to ensure that the shipments proceeding into 2020 are sufficient for the market demand.
Reports also showed that Apple has already increased the production of iPhone 11 following the high demand at launch. Apple is expected to produce up to eight million additional units.
Apart from all this, Apple will need to fit into budget-production; the upcoming SE2 is expected to have less powerful cameras than the iPhone 11, and presumably, will have a home button, similar to the iPhone 8, which doesn’t support Face ID.
