Rumor: Apple targeting 4-5M iPhone SE shipments in second quarter
Apple is hoping to ship between 4 to 5 million iPhone SE units during the second quarter of 2016, which won't be enough to compensate for a decline in iPhone 6s and 6s Plus sales, supply chain sources indicated on Thursday.
The company's chip orders for the quarter have been relatively slow compared to the same quarter in past years, the sources said to Digitimes. These orders are expected to be just slightly higher than the first quarter, in spite of Apple launching the SE and a 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
The sources claimed in fact that chip shipments for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will probably be halved versus the first quarter, allegedly because of the disappointing sales figures.
Digitimes has a mixed track record when covering Apple products. The SE isn't intended to be a flagship iPhone however, and Apple itself has guided to its first year-over-year decline in iPhone sales for the March quarter. These could make the site's sources more plausible.
The iPhone SE officially shipped on Thursday after a brief round of preorders. Apple is unlikely to provide any device-specific sales figures, except perhaps after launch weekend, if sales are strong enough to be worth publicizing.
The company's chip orders for the quarter have been relatively slow compared to the same quarter in past years, the sources said to Digitimes. These orders are expected to be just slightly higher than the first quarter, in spite of Apple launching the SE and a 9.7-inch iPad Pro.
The sources claimed in fact that chip shipments for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus will probably be halved versus the first quarter, allegedly because of the disappointing sales figures.
Digitimes has a mixed track record when covering Apple products. The SE isn't intended to be a flagship iPhone however, and Apple itself has guided to its first year-over-year decline in iPhone sales for the March quarter. These could make the site's sources more plausible.
The iPhone SE officially shipped on Thursday after a brief round of preorders. Apple is unlikely to provide any device-specific sales figures, except perhaps after launch weekend, if sales are strong enough to be worth publicizing.
Comments
How many SE's were available to purchase by that date?
I would guess very few and nowhere near 4-5 million.
Cue sog bitching about how this will kill the stock.
http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20160127PD204.html
Same sources—the mythical Taiwan supply chain.
The bespoke leather case (barely visible in the pic) is perfect.
Couple other things: yes, the TouchID is a tad slower than my iPad Pro, but it's not a deal-breaker. Also interesting that although they upgraded the camera proper, the flash is still the dual-LED variety.
The iPad Pro has the old one, so I would have guessed that it should be the same as on the iPhone SE.
I've been watching this for a while, and for every bit of good news, there is a negative hysterical reaction from the press:
Sales are good? They might be bad tomorrow!
Sales are a tiny bit bad? It's the Apple-ocalypse of collapsing sales!
Sales are the same? OMG no growth SELL SELL SELL the stock!!
Successful new product launched? But that success isn't BIG enough!
Apple releases a hugely successful big screen iPhone? OMG that means NEXT year Apple's sales will PLUMMET!
Apple takes the lead in a new product category (like the watch)? That new market is TOO SMALL!
Apple kicks Samsung's butt? The real threat comes from Chinese phone makers!
Apple holds its own against Chinese phone makers? Yeah but what will happen in 2023?
Apple makes majority of smart phone profits? Apple relies on the iPhone, which will become extinct!
Etc. You can't win. APPL is tainted in the eyes of the market. The bloggers prefer companies like Netflix (which barely makes a profit), Amazon (which is CELEBRATED for making a 2nd quarter profit of $92 Million lol), Twitter (doesn't make money), Uber (doesn't make money), Spotify (same) etc.
Granted, that's not a fair comparison, and I'm overstating the facts -- but the core of my comment is right: Apple is not getting the respect, the press coverage, or the stock valuation, that the company deserves.
So, according to this the SE would ship less phones than the 5S it replaced despite being cheaper... That's pretty idiotic even from a logical standpoint.