iPhone 15 Shipments Expected to Surpass Previous Model... Strong Sales in China

On the 22nd, the China-based on-site sales of the Apple iPhone 15 series are expected to surpass the shipment levels of previous models, according to China’s First Financial Daily on the 24th. In some stores in major cities such as Shanghai, popular models like the iPhone Pro Max have sold out, drawing significant attention.

According to First Financial, Tianfeng Securities in China recently reported that the shipment volume of the iPhone 15 series is projected to reach 80 million units, exceeding the previous iPhone 14 series shipments of 76 million units. Mingzhuo, an analyst at Tianfeng Securities, stated, "Early pre-order sales data for the iPhone 15 series is relatively positive," and predicted that "Apple’s profits and revenue growth in the fourth quarter will be driven by this."

Analyst Guo said, "The iPhone 15 Pro Max will be the main growth driver," adding, "Judging from the orders for the telephoto camera module, which is the biggest bottleneck in the supply chain, the shipment volume of the iPhone 15 Pro Max this year will reach 35 million units, significantly surpassing the 28 million units of the iPhone 14 Pro Max."

U.S. investment banking firm Wedbush also noted in its report that pre-orders for the iPhone 15 series have increased by 10-12% compared to the previous series, with premium models expected to perform even better. Wedbush evaluated, "Most of the pre-orders are for the Pro and Pro Max models, which have higher average selling prices, contributing to the company’s profit improvement."

The on-site sales performance during the first weekend after launch is also progressing smoothly. While the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus models are available for on-site purchase, some stores in major cities like Shanghai have sold out of the Pro Max, resulting in no stock, according to First Financial. The media explained that if ordered on that day, delivery would only be possible in early November.

Apple’s market share in China’s high-end smartphone market has been steadily increasing. According to research firm IDC, Apple’s share in the premium smartphone market priced above $600 reached 67% in the first half of this year. Morgan Stanley, in a report released last week, considered it premature to judge the overall demand for the iPhone 15 series solely based on pre-orders, but predicted that Apple’s stock price, which had fallen more than 5% over the past five trading days, would recover in the short term.