Analysts: Apple's Q4 iPhone sales could go flat following the launch of the iPhone 6S series
According to Wells Fargo analysts Maynard Um, Munjal Shah and Jason Ng, Apple will sell about as much iPhones during the fourth quarter of 2015 as it did back in Q4 2014. If this estimate turns out to be accurate, this will be the first time that Apple doesn't sell more smartphones in the quarter following a new iPhone launch compared to the same period a year before.
Allegedly, Apple is now reaching the maximum number of carriers that it can partner with to sell the iPhone. The analysts estimated that Apple currently has deal in place with 414 carriers across the globe, carriers that are said to account for a whopping 95 percent of all the mobile subscriptions on the globe.
In the past years, Apple routinely expanded its reach to new countries and new carriers, driving sales of its iPhone line-up. The most recent - and probably the most notable - example of this strategy is the iPhone's launch in China this year, which was the main reason why Apple was able to sell 61.2 million iPhones during Q1 2015. As the situation stands now, the analysts suggest that the only way Apple can continue to increase iPhone sales is by digging deeper into the mobile subscriber base of its current partners.
Based on the details mentioned above, the Wells Fargo analysts believe that Apple's iPhone sales during Q4 2015 will flatten year-on-year compared to the same period the year before. Don't worry about Apple's financial success though: selling about 74.5 million iPhones in three months has generated immense profits for the manufacturer in 2014, and Apple's profit margin on the iPhone series isn't likely to go down with the launch of the iPhone 6S series.
Speaking of the iPhone 6S, a recent leak showed that the smartphone might be scheduled to launch on September 25th, with pre-orders said to start on September 18th.
source: FierceWireless
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