The highly anticipated iPhone 15 family is set to make its debut in the upcoming fall season, featuring a price increase and slimmer bezels. Surprisingly, market expectations suggest that the demand for the upcoming series is currently predicted to be lower compared to the demand witnessed for the iPhone 14 line when it was released last year. This observation comes from Ming-Chi Kuo, a renowned analyst with deep connections to the supply chain, who explicitly mentions in his latest report that “demand for the iPhone 15 is lower than that of iPhone 14”.
iPhone 15 Latest Leak
Indeed, the current projection regarding the demand for the iPhone 15 is subject to change as the situation evolves. According to Ming-Chi Kuo, unless the demand for the iPhone 15 exceeds market expectations after its launch, many suppliers could face growth pressure in the second half of the year.
The lower demand outlook is not limited to iPhones alone; it extends to other Apple hardware products for the second half of 2023. However, there remains a possibility of the prediction tide shifting if Apple were to clearly indicate a positive outlook on market demand in the latter half of 2023 or even in 2024. As of now, such an indication has not been given, but there is a potential for it to occur in the future.
Recently, renowned analyst Ming-Chi Kuo made predictions indicating that Apple’s hardware sales, including the iPhone 15, are expected to be lower compared to last year’s figures. Despite Apple’s traditional practice of announcing new iPhones in the latter part of the year, this alone may not be enough to reverse the trend.
Although there was a temporary decline in 4Q22 iPhone shipments due to the closure of Hon Hai’s Zhengzhou factory, most component shipment plans remained largely unaffected. These factors suggest that Apple may face challenges in achieving sales figures similar to those of the previous year.