Reports that we’ll see a September iPhone 13 launch are given increased confidence by supply-chain checks on the number of units already assembled in readiness, says an analyst. All four models are expected to have September availability.
Additionally, there are more signs pointing to a 1TB storage tier…
Wedbush issued the investor’s note.
Our recent Asia supply chain checks for 2H put iPhone builds between 130M-150M. The iPhone 13 appears to represent 35%-45% of iPhone builds in Q3, this positive outlook gives us enhanced confidence that 2021’s launch timing will be “normal.” From a timing perspective, we believe the current iPhone 13 launch is slated for the third week in September.
This used to be a given, but we’ve noted before that this is no longer the case.
From the iPhone 5 to iPhone 8, each year’s models were available in September. Things changed with the iPhone X, however, and since then it’s been unclear whether availability of particular models would be September, October, or November.
It underlined reports that Apple is expecting the iPhone 13 to outsell the iPhone 12.
Asia supply chain builds for iPhone 13 are currently still in the ~90 million unit range compared to our initial iPhone 12 reads at 80 million units (pre-COVID) and represents a ~10%+ increase YoY out of the gates.
While this number will clearly move around over the coming months (chip shortage volatility adds to it), we believe this speaks to an increased confidence with Cook & Co. that this 5G driven product cycle will extend well into 2022.
Although we’re expecting the iPhone 13 to be effectively an S-model, the same design (aside from camera layout) with new features, it’s expected to benefit from a stronger economy as things reopen after pandemic lockdowns.
The note also cites supply-chain checks as strengthening Wedbush’s belief that Apple will offer a 1TB tier in this year’s iPhone lineup.
From a spec perspective, we have increased confidence that iPhone 13 will have an eye-popping 1 terabyte storage option which is double from the highest Pro storage capacity today (512GB) and will also include a number of key enhancements with Lidar across all iPhone 13 models.
Our poll yesterday found that the majority of 9to5Mac readers plan to upgrade this year, with the iPhone 13 Pro Max the most popular choice.
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