Ming-Chi Kuo is out today with a new note on iPhone XR pre-order demand. As he previously predicted, the new device is outpacing the sales of iPhone 8/8 Plus from last year even as stock of XR remains good.
Last week, Kuo upped his forecast of iPhone XR sales for the current quarter from 33m-35m units to 36m-38m. That bumped his total iPhone sales estimate from 75m-80m up to 78m-83m for the holiday quarter.
Today, he’s shared more details on how iPhone XR pre-orders have been going after Apple started selling the new colorful model last Friday.
Kuo says that demand so far has been greater than what Apple saw with the iPhone 8/8 Plus last year even though there’s launch day availability for the XR from Apple and just 1-2 week wait times from most carriers and other retailers.
He notes that iPhone XS/XS Max naturally saw more pre-order demand from tech-savvy customers, whereas the XR will see more interest from regular consumers who usually don’t have any “urgent replacement demand” and are more budget focused.
Kuo reiterates the expectation that iPhone XR sales will also be higher in Q1 2019 than what the iPhone 8 saw in 2018.
