In the past two years, sales of iPhones have declined slightly. According to IDC data, Apple sold around 116 million smartphones from January to September 2019, for example, a decrease of around one percent compared to the same period in 2018. For 2021, however, the Californian company is aiming for a sharp increase in sales.
96 million iPhones in the first half of 2021
From January to June next year, around 96 million iPhones will roll off the production lines at Apple’s contract manufacturers, reports Nikkei Asia. This corresponds to an increase in production of around 30 percent compared to the first half of 2019. The total number is distributed across all models currently on offer, i.e. the four variants of the iPhone 12 as well as iPhone 11, iPhone SE and iPhone XR. However, according to the Japanese newspaper, there are still certain imponderables with regard to the attainability of this production target. For example, several important components will only be available to a limited extent in the medium term.
iPhone 12 Pro (Max) is selling well
Apple expects to be able to sell 230 million iPhones in the whole of the coming year, which would be around 20 percent more than in 2019. However, this production target will be continuously reviewed as usual and adjusted to global demand if necessary. Apple’s contract manufacturers are confident, however, that the increase in the numbers should be significant: “The prospects are very good,” said the manager of a major supplier in an interview with Nikkei Asia. The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max sold better than expected, and the numbers for the iPhone 12 were within the predicted range. Only the iPhone 12 mini is a little weak.
Expansion of Mac production planned
According to Nikkei Asia’s report, Apple also wants to ramp up the production of MacBooks and iMacs in the coming year. However, the newspaper does not give exact figures. The expansion is related to the switch to in-house ARM processors. After Apple already presented the Mac mini, MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with 13-inch displays with Apple Silicon this year, a number of other models with the new architecture will follow in 2021.