iPhone 7 Is said to be available in three variants: gold, silver and space grey. (Photo : Youtube/IC Tech)
While Apple Inc has acknowledged that iPhone sales are declining, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently stated in a research note that things may be even worse than what appears.
According to Kuo, whose predictions regarding Apple products have proved to be correct in the past, the iPhone is unlikely to have a very good year in 2016. He forecast that shipments of the iPhone are likely to drop to 190 million this year, much less compared to the 193 million iPhones shipped in 2014, 9to5 Mac reported.
Although shipments do not mean sales, there are sufficient reasons to think that a drop in shipments and waning sales are linked. As Apple has been marketing iPhones for several years now it can apparently foresee the demand for new products. Outlining the reasons for his prediction, Kuo stated that the iPhone 7 is unlikely to boast of lots of attractive USPs.
In his report, Kuo also mentioned about the recently launched iPhone SE. According to the analyst, though the iPhone SE is a wonderful device, Apple does not make any major departure in terms of design or features. He said that this is one of the major reasons why iPhone shipments will decrease.
Kuo's estimates for the iPhone SE, however, were the only bright spot in his research note on the future of iPhone. The analyst has actually corrected his anticipated shipments up from 12 million units to 18 million units, Apple Insider reported. Yet, Kuo does not believe that the iPhone SE will have a stronger-than-expected performance.
However, Kuo is of the view that the demand for iPhone will pick up again in 2017, when Apple is expected to launch a completely refurbished iPhone design boasting an all-glass body and AMOLED display.
In his report, Kuo also projected the sales for Samsung, Huawei, OPPO and Vivo. According to his predictions, Samsung will experience 1 percent sales growth, retaining its position as the largest smartphone seller in the world. According to him, despite the sales drop, Apple will manage to retain the second place.
Huawei, according to Kuo, will experience 15.1 percent sale growth to 122 million units becoming the third largest smartphone vendor worldwide, while OPPO, with a projected growth of 51.1 percent to 74 million units, will come fourth. Vivo will take the fifth spot with 45.5 percent growth.
Watch the video on iPhone 7 rumors and concept below:
