iPhone XR shipments will start ramping up soon

iPhone XR shipments will start ramping up soon, as Apple revises internal forecasts upward
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For the second year in a row, Apple’s new iPhone lineup includes a total of three models, only two of which are however already up for pre-order ahead of a September 21 commercial rollout.

This time around, the belated third version is the most affordable, as well as (technically) the least impressive of the bunch, which apparently doesn’t make the iPhone XR any less hot than the XS and XS Max.

Quite on the contrary, as unnamed “sources from the Apple supply chain” seem to be backing up earlier predictions calling for a majority of new iPhone shipments to be accounted by the cheaper, colorful, LCD screen-sporting, single rear camera-featuring XR.

The handset’s own manufacturer may have underestimated its potential, with iPhone XR component orders reportedly revised upward for the next few months. Apple now expects more than 50 percent of the 2018 generation’s sales tally to be driven by the lower-cost model through “early 2019” at the very least.

A whopping 20 million units could be ready for deliveries to end users as early as next month, while iPhone XS Max shipments are merely tipped to remain steady at a monthly rate of 4 to 5 million units, representing 20 percent of the new iPhone total “for a while.”

As far as the smaller iPhone XS is concerned, its figures are described as “vulnerable to market conditions”, looking at a probable “momentum loss” starting in November.

The widely forecasted mainstream popularity of the iPhone XR obviously poses a problem in terms of the family’s average selling price and the company’s overall earnings, but on the decidedly bright side of things, Apple can finally hope to be “competitive” in budget-focused China, where (physical) dual SIM support could also boost sales.