iPhone 12 Mini and iPhone 12 Pro Max
Todd Haselton | CNBC
Apple cut orders for iPhones 20%, according to a report from Nikkei Asia on Wednesday, due to lower demand for its smaller iPhone 12 model.
Apple’s new iPhones are still in high demand. Apple plans to build 230 million iPhones in 2021, up 11.6% from 2020, according to Nikkei Asia. However, the iPhone 12 mini is not selling as well as expected as consumers are looking for either the older iPhone 11, which has a bigger screen, the larger iPhone 12 or the iPhone models 12 Most Popular Pro.
Apple shares were slightly negative in Wednesday’s pre-trade. Shares rose more than 4% on Tuesday.
Consumer sentiment seems to reflect reviews on the phones when they first launched in November. CNBC said, for example, that the iPhone 12 mini is basically just a smaller version of the iPhone 12 with worse battery life. And while it’s questionable for people with smaller hands, most users should just spend the extra $ 100 for the iPhone 12, which has better battery life and a larger screen.
The iPhone 12 models have been largely successful for Apple, however. Apple no longer reveals how many iPhones it sells each quarter but, in January, research firm IDC reported that Apple shipped 90.1 million devices in the fourth quarter of 2020, the “load measure highest from a retailer in one quarter, ”and helped lead Apple to the world’s leading phone retailer, ahead of Samsung for their quarter. Apple iPhone revenue for the quarter was up 17% year-over-year, too.
That move behind Apple’s iPhone 12 helped record the fourth highest holiday in 2020, bringing in more than $ 100 billion in quarters for the first time in the company’s history.
Apple was not immediately available for comment.