Apple's First Day Preorders for the iPhone 12 Surpassed the iPhone 11, Apple analyst Says

Source: Apple Inc.

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Apple’s First Day Preorders for the iPhone 12 Surpassed the iPhone 11, Apple analyst Says

According to top Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities, Apple sold more iPhone 12 models in the first 24 hours of preorders last week than iPhone 11 models sold in the same period last year.

According to Kuo, Apple sold up to 2 million iPhone 12 units in the first 24 hours, up from 800,000 units for the iPhone 11. However, for the entire weekend of preorders, which ended Sunday, Kuo predicted Apple would sell up to 9 million iPhone 12 units, down from 12 million for the same period for the iPhone 11.

According to Kuo, the iPhone 12 Pro sold better than expected due to strong demand in China. Kuo has a strong track record of forecasting future Apple products and sales, so his predictions carry extra weight, especially since Apple stopped reporting iPhone unit sales two years ago. Several years ago, Apple stopped reporting first-weekend sales of new iPhone models.

Here are more highlights from Kuo’s report,

The iPhone 11 price cut to $599 caused weaker preorder demand for the iPhone 12.

The iPhone 12 Pro, which has better cameras than the base model, sold better than expected in the first wave of preorders, thanks to 5G’s broad availability in China.
Kuo said China represented 35% to 45% of iPhone Pro demand.

Demand for the iPhone 12 Mini (a smaller version of the iPhone 12) and iPhone 12 Pro Max (a larger version of the iPhone 12 Pro), which go on sale next month, will likely be weaker than the 12 and 12 Pro.

The iPhone 12 Mini probably won’t sell as well in China because of the smaller screen and the lack of support for two SIM cards, which lets users switch between carriers on the same device, a popular feature in Asia.