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Kuo: iPhone XR pre-orders higher than iPhone 8 but weaker than iPhone XS
As many of you will know, iPhone XR pre-orders commenced last Friday but, rather surprisingly, shipping times remained steady over the course of the weekend. This led many to believe that, either demand was weaker than expected, or Apple had prepared a higher number of devices ahead of launch. According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, however, it is actually a combination of both factors.
In his latest report published earlier today, Kuo confirmed that, just as expected, iPhone XR pre-orders are indeed outpacing those of last year’s iPhone 8 and 8 Plus by a considerable margin. Despite this, he noted that demand is still quite a bit lower than the peak registered by the iPhone XS and XS Max, although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
According to Kuo, while initial iPhone XS demand was higher, it has since experienced a significant drop-off. The iPhone XR, on the other hand, is set to encounter a significantly smaller drop which will lead to “more stable” sales in the long run. This is due to its lower price and the fact that it caters towards regular consumers who tend to have a tighter budget and don’t usually have any “urgent replacement demand.”
Throughout the fourth quarter of 2018, Kuo now expects Apple to ship between 36 and 38 million iPhone XR units, up from his previous expectations of 33 to 35 million. Moreover, he sees iPhone XR demand remaining strong during the first quarter of 2019.
