iPhone XR could easily outsell iPhone XS

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Long-term iPhone XR demand could eventually lead to greater sales than the iPhone XS.
Sellers are desperately hoping for a sales boost.
Photo: Apple

The iPhone XR just debuted on Friday, and an esteemed analyst says it outsold last year’s iPhone 8 on their respective opening weekends.

The analyst goes on to predict that Apple’s newest handset will eventually outsell the iPhone XS models that launched last month.

Ming-Chi Kuo of TF International Securities said that the strategy of offering this latest iOS handset in white, black, blue, yellow, coral, and (Product)RED is working. “In terms of pre-order preferences, demand for new colors is better than expected,” he wrote in a note to investors this morning.

Kuo also said that the most popular storage capacity is 64GB, the least expensive option. Not surprising, considering many are likely choosing the iPhone XR because it’s $250 less than the cheapest iPhone XS.

iPhone XR demand over the short term and long term

The iPhone XR didn’t sell out on opening day, which some took as a sign that demand was weak. The TF International Securities analyst disagrees:

“We are not surprised that XR’s initial delivery times are shorter than those of the iPhone XS series after pre-order open given that XS and XR have different target customers. The former’s target customers are Apple fans, who snap up new models rapidly after the pre-order open. The latter’s are general users who are used to operating iOS with characteristics including favoring the Apple brand, limited budget, or no urgent replacement demand.”

Kuo does say that opening-weekend iPhone XR demand was less than the iPhone XS when it first debuted. But over the coming months, the cheaper XR will eventually outsell the XS models.

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