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The iPhone 11 sells like Popeyes chicken sandwich, and that may be bad news for Apple

Jan 22, 2020, 3:41 AM

Daniel Petrov

The iPhone 11 sells like Popeyes chicken sandwich, and that may be bad news for Apple

Ever since Apple let it out at $699, the thicc iPhone 11 indicated that it will be selling like gangbusters and subsequent reports confirmed that Apple may have underestimated the demand for it.

Initial reports that it is selling on par with the early adopter excitement around the Pro models started surfacing as far back as its launch month and were particularly valid for the US market. Then the global sales estimates started pouring in, and it turned out that the humble 11 is hitting it off with Apple fans like no other iPhone in the lineup, amounting to the whopping 40% of new iOS handset sales even.

Apple was reportedly forced to increase the iPhone 11 component orders with its suppliers, and the latest hint that this trend is likely continuing now comes in the form of new A13 chip orders. According to Bloomberg, Apple's turning fortunes in China meant that its new iPhone 11 and to a certain extent its Pro sibling, are spearheading a massive increase in market share behind the Great Wall.

Thus, Apple has asked its chip foundry honchos from TSMC to keep up with the demand, and churn out more A13 processors than they had forecast for the quarter. Apple reports at the end of the month, and we should know more about its revenue from Greater China then.

If the average selling price (ASP) of its handsets takes a hit, there will be no doubt which iPhone of the 11 trio has been the most popular lately. Will Apple make up for it in increased volume to keep its revenue numbers intact?

We'll see, but Apple is pretty dependent on its high-priced iPhone selling in decent volumes if it is to maintain its crazy ASP numbers, as you can see from analyst Horace Dediu's chart here, so that strong iPhone 11 demand may not be the good news that it sounds like at first blush.