Kuo sees ‘stronger than expected’ sales, new Mac designs in ’21

Queuing for iPhones is so passes…

TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo claims ‘stronger than expected’ demand for Apple’s newly-introduced iPhones, iPads and Apple Silicon Macs, though AirPods sales are a little muted.

‘Stronger than expected’, new Macs in ’21

Among other predictions for the coming months, he believes Apple will introduce a new Apple Silicon chip for desktop Macs in 2H21, that MacBooks will be redesigned and even more health functions will be introduced to the Apple Watch.

Here is a summary of what he has to say:

• iPhone 12 sales are skewing to favor the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max.
• iPad Air is also seeing “impressive” demand, he said, predicting new mini LED and 5G tablets would keep pressing home Apple’s tablet advantage.
• Demand for Apple Watch Series 6 and new M1 MacBooks is also robust, he said. He anticipates more MacBook models equipped with Apple Silicon will appear in 2H 21.

• “We take a positive view of the new MacBook models with Apple Silicon and new design that are expected to be released in 2H21,” he said.
• (The news comes as new leaks claim we can expect an M2 desktop Mac chip in 2H 21, which is itself in line with previous reports.)
• “We predict that the shipment momentum of the new Apple Watch in 2021 will benefit from innovative health management functions and improved design.”
• He sees these trends pushing Apple through the first half of 2021.

That AirPods thing

On AirPods, the analyst predicts next-generation models will appear in late Q2 2021 and sees flat demand, in part due to supply constraints.

I’d speculate that given the choice between an iPad Air 4 or M1 Mac and/or AirPods, consumers will pick up a Mac or tablet in constrained times. I’m also uncertain as to the extent to which the analyst picks up on AirPods provided as benefits by carriers to customers signing-up for iPhone contracts.

Can’t make ’em fast enough?

The analysis seems to match multiple reports from across the company’s global markets.

Not only has the company asked suppliers to increase component manufacturing, but strong demand is driving M&A activity. Apple’s years of meticulous effort in India seem set to pay off as iPhone sales see big increases in the populous nation, reports suggest.

Canalys recently claimed some very promising data points, declaring that Apple has become the world’s second biggest PC maker, eclipsed only by Lenovo:

• Pad sales up 41%.
• Mac sales climbed 47%,
• While the overall PC market climbed 23%.
• Apple climbed 40.9%.

Finally, Apple’s chip foundry, TSMC, allegedly cannot meet the demand for all the Apple Silicon chips required to feed the need for iPhones, iPads, Macs and more.

Please follow me on Twitter, or join me in the AppleHolic’s bar & grill and Apple Discussions groups on MeWe.