Apple may have at last beaten its iPhone 6 record – analysts

This was the scene at the O2 store when the first iPhone was sold in the UK way back in November 2007. (I’d quite like to know where they all are now).

Apple really seems to have hit the mark with iPhone 12, which appears to have built the same kind of market traction as it achieved with the record-setting iPhone 6, with over 100 million units sold in just over 6 months.

A new iWorld record?

That’s the data coming out of Counterpoint, which says Apple managed to shift 100 million units in April 2020, two months earlier than it achieved with iPhone 11.

“The iPhone 12 series’ cumulative global sales crossed the 100 million units mark in April 2021, according to Counterpoint Research’s mobile handset Market Pulse Service. The series was able to achieve this feat in the seventh month after its launch, which is two months earlier than the iPhone 11 series and almost the same as the iPhone 6 series that helped Apple achieve its first volume super-cycle at the cusp of 4G transition. With the iPhone 12 series, Apple has achieved another volume super-cycle after six generations of iPhones and at the cusp of 5G transition,” the analysts said.

What makes this more interesting is that both the last model and the iPhone 6 in September, which strongly hints that the rate of sales of the new model may be faster than those two phones.

This is the hugest pile of iPhones you can imagine — think how many hours of work and development it represents.

What they want

Consumers are picking up on 5G support (though coverage is patchy and services scant), the OLED screen and the price. Well, perhaps not the price, but the report does say the ASP is at an all-time high.

It’s interesting that the iPhone 12 Pro is the preferred model while the iPhone 12 Pro Max accounts for 29% of sales, which is pretty high. The U.S. contributed to 40% of the global iPhone 12 Pro Max sales till April.

It’s also interesting to consider an earlier report from the same analysts which claims global online handset sales increased by almost 6% points in 2020 compared to the previous year, with online sales accounting for around 26% of all sales. By major country, India showed the highest online share at 45%, followed by the UK at 39% and China at 34%.

In the pipeline

Apple is expected to introduce its all new iPhone 13 in September. Rumor claims this will feature a 120Hz display and under display Touch ID, but will almost certainly make use of a new A15 Apple Silicon chip.

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