The iPhone XR is almost identical to the iPhone Xs in terms of design, and for the most part it shares the same hardware as well save for a few differences here and there. However the most appealing thing about it was its price, where it is priced several hundred dollars cheaper than the iPhone Xs, which is why some analysts were initially optimistic about the handset.
Notable Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo was one of them, where he had previously raised his estimates for shipments of the phone in Q4 2018, but now it looks like Kuo has decided to back down on his previous claims. According to a new note sent to investors, Kuo has slashed his estimates for the iPhone XR from 100 million to 70 million during the product’s lifecycle (Q4 2018 to Q3 2019).
According to Kuo, he cites reasons such as consumer confidence taking a hit from the trade war between the US and China, which he believes will have a negative impact on shipment of the device. He also indicated that the lowered forecasts are based on the expectations of customers who had expected the iPhone XR to be even more affordable than what Apple had priced it, and how the Huawei Mate 20 seems to be giving Apple a run for their money.
So far several analysts have suggested that the iPhone XR isn’t selling as well as we had thought, and that Apple might already be sitting on quite a lot of unsold inventory which seems like a similar situation they faced with the iPhone 5c all those years ago.