Shipping delays continue to dog Apple's 4" iPhone SE
Two and a half months after the launch of the Apple iPhone SE, the company still hasn't caught up with demand -- a somewhat surprising issue for Chief Executive Tim Cook, whose noted strengths are in logistics and operations.
As of this week's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, U.S. Apple retail stores are still reporting two-plus-week wait times for new orders of the 4-inch iPhone SE. The handset launched in late March and supply has been constrained ever since.
In April, rumblings from Apple's supply chain claimed that Apple had increased orders for the iPhone SE, planning to build more than 5 million units in the quarter to keep up with demand. Those efforts, if accurate, don't appear to have paid off yet, with demand continuing to outstrip supply into the summer.
Consumer interest in the iPhone SE also remains greater than supply overseas, where customers also face similar wait times.
Apple's apparent inability to satisfy iPhone SE demand contrasts with the company's preparation for the launch of the Apple Watch last year, when shipping times had drastically improved just a few months after launch. While estimated deliveries were advertised at four-to-six weeks after the April 2015 launch, shipment waits had decreased to under a week by early June.
Earlier this year, Apple said iPhone SE demand is being driven by iPhone users who prefer smaller form factors, as well as switchers from other brands. Aggressive pricing is also driving sales with a $399 starting price for 16 gigabytes representing the lowest entry point for a new iPhone ever.
"We're thrilled with the response that we've seen on it," Cook said of the iPhone SE during his company's quarterly results conference call in April . "It's clear there's a demand there that's much beyond what we thought, which is why we have the constraint that we have."
As of this week's annual Worldwide Developers Conference, U.S. Apple retail stores are still reporting two-plus-week wait times for new orders of the 4-inch iPhone SE. The handset launched in late March and supply has been constrained ever since.
In April, rumblings from Apple's supply chain claimed that Apple had increased orders for the iPhone SE, planning to build more than 5 million units in the quarter to keep up with demand. Those efforts, if accurate, don't appear to have paid off yet, with demand continuing to outstrip supply into the summer.
Consumer interest in the iPhone SE also remains greater than supply overseas, where customers also face similar wait times.
Apple's apparent inability to satisfy iPhone SE demand contrasts with the company's preparation for the launch of the Apple Watch last year, when shipping times had drastically improved just a few months after launch. While estimated deliveries were advertised at four-to-six weeks after the April 2015 launch, shipment waits had decreased to under a week by early June.
Earlier this year, Apple said iPhone SE demand is being driven by iPhone users who prefer smaller form factors, as well as switchers from other brands. Aggressive pricing is also driving sales with a $399 starting price for 16 gigabytes representing the lowest entry point for a new iPhone ever.
"We're thrilled with the response that we've seen on it," Cook said of the iPhone SE during his company's quarterly results conference call in April . "It's clear there's a demand there that's much beyond what we thought, which is why we have the constraint that we have."
Comments
Sounds more like Cook should be praised for pursuing the SE in general.
$399 in the states and €499 in EU it's a great phone for the price.
If they miss the forecast for demand, I don't think they can recover in a few weeks. If they could, they would have been able to recover in a few weeks at every launch. It takes time for the component suppliers to start cranking out more parts and the assemblers to put more together. Bringing new manufacturing lines online takes time. Didn't the 6 and 6Plus take almost a whole quarter to come into balance? They probably thought this would do better than the 5C, but were surprised by just how much better it did.
Long live 4" iPhones.
Estimating demand is always a hard things to do; it's only when people buy something that you actually know how much demand there really is./
I love my SE as much as I loved my 5s. Apple's fastest phone is certainly snappy
I've seen people with 5,000 photos on their phone. THAT'S the problem.
It's not the Calculator app or Tips app taking up all that space.
Here are the iPhone sales numbers since Q1 fy ‘11, with Q1 bolded.
16,235
18,647
20,338
17,073
37,044
35,064
26,028
26,910
47,789
37,603
31,241
33,797
51,025
43,719
35,203
39,272
74,468
61,170
47,534
48,050
74,779
51,193
BIG jump (128%) when Apple moved the iPhone release date 3 months closer to the holidays in 2011 (Q1 fy '12). Then only a moderate jump in '13 (29%), and a smaller jump in '14 (7%). Q1 '13 and Q1 '14 were the 5 and 5s models respectively. Finally, another big jump in '14 with the 6 (47%) and flat in '15.
IMHO, this, and Apple's lack of ability to match demand for the SE, reveals the "smoking gun" of what happened to production in '13 and '14; the 5 series was just flat harder to produce than the 4 series or the 6 series. My guess of the problem: The highly milled edges of the aluminum housing. As an ex-CNC machinist, I can guarantee you that you can't make those edges quickly.
Note that the 6 series doesn't have milled edges, and hence is far easier to ramp up production on.
BTW, I think the 5 series was one of the most beautiful iPhones ever produced. Just a shame that it's so hard to make....