What you need to know
- Apple could sell over 240 million iPhones in the 2021 fiscal year.
- If done, it would beat Apple's previous record of 231 million iPhones sold in 2015.
Due to the success of the iPhone 12 lineup, Apple could sell a record-breaking 240 million iPhones this year.
As reported by MacRumors, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives has released a new research note that says the company is on the path to selling between 240-250 million iPhones for its 2021 fiscal year. Doing so would smash its previous record of 231 million iPhones sold back in 2015 after the company announced the iPhone 6.
Ives said that, while Wall Street is generally anticipating 220 iPhones sold for the 2021 fiscal year, their firm remains bullish that Apple could blow past that number.
"While the Street is forecasting roughly 220 million iPhone units for FY21, we believe based on this current trajectory and in a bull case Cupertino still has potential to sell north of 240 million units (~250 million could be in the cards - an eye popping figure) which would easily eclipse the previous Apple record of 231 million units sold in FY15."Ives estimates that 350 million iPhone users worldwide are currently "in the window of an upgrade opportunity," which he believes is "translating into an unprecedented supercycle upgrade cycle" for Apple this year.
Apple has seen enormous success with the iPhone 12 lineup. A recent report from CIRP estimated that the new iPhone lineup already made up more than 50% of iPhone sales in the first quarter of 2021.
CIRP finds that the new iPhone 12 models (12, 12 Pro, 12 Pro Max, and 12 mini) accounted for 56% of US iPhone sales in the quarter. iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro Max had the largest share for a single model, at 17% each (Chart 1). The model mix resulted in a US Weighted Average Retail Price (US-WARP) of $873 for the quarter, compared to $809 for the December 2019 quarter.
That sales streak is also expected to continue through the release of the iPhone 13 this fall.
Bottom line: For most people, there is no reason to invest in the Pro model. With near-matched specs across the board, this is the new standard in iPhone.
