According to the analyst firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Apple Inc.’s iPhone 16e is surpassing the initial sales figures of the third-generation iPhone SE, which debuted on March 18, 2022. The market research indicates that the iPhone 16e achieved 60% higher sales in its first three days compared to the iPhone SE 3. However, this strong performance is unlikely to change the projection that Apple’s overall sales in China will dip by approximately 2% this year.
Vlad Savov for Bloomberg News:
“The competition from Android will be even stronger, strengthened by the national China subsidies which will benefit Android significantly more than Apple,” said Nabila Popal, IDC senior director.
The new $599 iPhone 16e replaces the $429 iPhone SE, making the challenge in China tougher when it comes to fending off budget Android alternatives…
Still, Apple could make up for the sales weakness via other models in the region. “We need to keep in mind that these would likely still be only a small portion of Apple’s volumes given that many consumers in China place an emphasis on ‘face’ — not wanting to be seen as having a lower-priced iPhone,” IDC’s Bryan Ma said. Looking beyond China, he expects the 16e to make up as much as a fifth of iPhone sales in India in the second half of the year.
MacDailyNews Take: Nabila Popal, senior research director with IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, said in a February 25th statement, “While iOS will decline 1.9% in China this year due to ongoing challenges, globally it is forecast to increase 1.8% thanks to strong growth in the U.S., Apple’s largest market, coupled with rapid growth of 18% and 9% YoY in emerging markets like India and Indonesia. The ongoing rollout of Apple Intelligence and the recently launched mid-priced iPhone 16E is also expected to fuel demand and keep average selling prices (ASPs) elevated for Apple and will help it capture 45% value share in 2025 despite only 19% of shipments.”
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[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Fred Mertz” for the heads up.]
