iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max
Todd Haselton | CNBC
Apple cut iPhones orders by 20%, according to a Nikkei report on Wednesday, due to declining demand for its smaller model of the iPhone 12 mini.
The new Apple iPhones are still in high demand. Apple plans to build 230 million iPhones in 2021, an 11.6% increase over 2020, according to Nikkei. But, the iPhone 12 mini is not selling as well as expected, as consumers prefer the old iPhone 11, which has a larger screen, the larger iPhone 12 or the more premium models of the iPhone 12 Pro.
Apple’s shares were slightly negative in Wednesday’s pre-market. The shares rose more than 4% on Tuesday.
Consumer sentiment seems to reflect the ratings of the phones when they launched in November. CNBC, for example, said the iPhone 12 mini is basically just a smaller version of the iPhone 12 with worse battery life. And while it’s appealing to people with smaller hands, most consumers should just spend the extra $ 100 on the iPhone 12, which has a longer battery life and a bigger screen.
The iPhone 12 models have been very successful for Apple, however. Apple no longer discloses how many iPhones it sells each quarter, but in January, research firm IDC said that Apple sold 90.1 million devices during the fourth quarter of 2020, the “biggest shipment volume from a supplier in a single quarter, “and helped lead Apple into the world’s biggest phone seller, ahead of Samsung in the quarter. Apple’s iPhone revenue in the quarter also increased 17% year-over-year.
This boost behind the iPhone 12 helped Apple book a record vacation quarter in 2020, bringing in more than $ 100 billion in a quarter for the first time in the company’s history.
Apple was not immediately available for comment.