76 million iPhone 14 devices were sold during the second half of last year, a 5.3% rise in deliveries over this year. According to Kuo, 80 million iPhone 15 series phones will be shipped during the second half of this year. Of course, the closure of Foxconn's largest iPhone production in Zhengzhou due to China's COVID lockdown had an impact on last year's results.
Kuo predicts that Apple increased its order for the top-of-the-line iPhone 15 model to 35 million units, a 25% increase from the 28 million iPhone 14 Pro Max units delivered during the second half of last year, by keeping track of orders for the telephoto module that is exclusive to the iPhone 15 Pro Max. The iPhone 15 Pro Max, according to Kuo, will be "serving as the primary growth driver for Apple's iPhone business in 4Q23."
Regarding the iPhone 15 Plus, the other 6.7-inch model in the lineup, Kuo claims that sales are better than anticipated because expectations were so drastically decreased. According to the analyst, sales of the two 6.1-inch models, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, aren't meeting expectations. If Apple doesn't lower the costs for these two phones, it may have to lower orders for the two devices.
This might be a good time to mention that Apple's shares have continued to show weakness, trading sideways to down, and closed Friday at $174.79, giving the company a market valuation of $2.73 trillion. Kuo is an analyst for a securities house that makes money by buying and selling securities for the public, as we like to point out, so it seems appropriate to mention this now.