Apple is apparently facing a good China business in the Christmas quarter. This is the assumption of a well-known analyst who refers to findings from distributors, retailers and from the gray market for iPhones. He believes that the demand for the iPhone 14 is probably greater than previously expected.
China for Apple of great importance
The People’s Republic is of central importance to Apple for two reasons. The group produces most of its devices here and also has many of its component suppliers based here. In addition, China is an enormously important sales market that has already managed to become the second most important sales region after the United States of America in several years. The mood here is observed with corresponding precision.
Ming-Chi Kuo from the Taiwanese financial institution TF International Securities now believes that the situation for the coming fourth quarter – which is the most important for Apple due to the iPhone release in the fall – is assessed by many observers to be worse than the actual situation is. Kuo pleads this especially on said gray market. This tries to acquire the coveted Apple devices particularly early, as they are quickly sold out in Apple stores and via Apple’s online trade and official distributors. Distributors, retailers and “scalpers”, i.e. resellers, pay the highest upfront payment for an iPhone of all when it comes to the iPhone 14 model.
Double the upfront payments
The advance payments have to be made now, although the models will probably only be available in September. By paying in advance, the intermediaries try to secure sufficient quantities. The sum is “significantly higher” than the iPhone 13, sometimes even twice as high, writes Kuo. Apple’s component suppliers are initially expecting 100 million devices, 90 million of which will be delivered in the second half of 2022. “Solid demand for the iPhone 14 in the Chinese market should reduce fears that Apple will scale back post-launch orders.”
What exactly is driving the demand is not entirely clear. While the iPhone 14 will bring some changes, a completely new design is not expected. Apple is probably giving up the iPhone 14 mini in favor of an iPhone 14 Max with a larger screen, allegedly only the Pro models will be equipped with a new SoC and the notch will be given up on the Pro models in favor of a “double pill”. Improved camera technology is also expected on the back. However, all these small innovations seem interesting enough to generate a lot of interest in the Chinese market. In addition, after the hard lockdowns in some regions in the spring, there is apparently some catching up to do in terms of consumption.
(bsc)
Tag: iphone design, iphone 14, apple iphone, iphone release