Apple Projected to Set New March Quarter Record with 42 Million iPhones Shipped

Apple appears poised to continue its string of setting new year-over-year records for quarterly iPhone sales, based on new data from Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty. According to Huberty's "AlphaWise" smartphone tracker, Apple is on track to ship 42 million iPhones during the January-March quarter, topping the March quarter record of 37.4 million iPhones set last year.

Morgan Stanley's AlphaWise tracker follows Google Trends data, and the firm touts that it has been more accurate than analyst consensus in recent quarters. Analyst consensus and Morgan Stanley's own supply chain estimates have been pegging Apple's iPhone shipments for the quarter at 38 million units, but demand numbers appear likely to push that number up.

morgan_stanley_alphawise
The strong demand appears in nearly all geographical regions, with U.S. carrier and retailer promotions in particular being cited for increasing customer interest.

One area that has not fared as well is China, which is seeing weaker momentum this quarter due to the earlier launch of the iPhone 5s/5c in that country. New iPhones have typically debuted in China several months after the first wave of launches, but Apple made strong efforts to ensure that China was included in that first wave for the latest iPhones. The January addition of China Mobile as an iPhone partner is offsetting that loss of March quarter momentum in China somewhat, but not enough to turn the overall trend for the country positive.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iPhone SE 4 Vertical Camera Feature

iPhone SE 4 Production Will Reportedly Begin Ramping Up in October

Tuesday July 23, 2024 2:00 pm PDT by
Following nearly two years of rumors about a fourth-generation iPhone SE, The Information today reported that Apple suppliers are finally planning to begin ramping up mass production of the device in October of this year. If accurate, that timeframe would mean that the next iPhone SE would not be announced alongside the iPhone 16 series in September, as expected. Instead, the report...
iPhone 17 Plus Feature

iPhone 17 Lineup Specs Detail Display Upgrade and New High-End Model

Monday July 22, 2024 4:33 am PDT by
Key details about the overall specifications of the iPhone 17 lineup have been shared by the leaker known as "Ice Universe," clarifying several important aspects of next year's devices. Reports in recent months have converged in agreement that Apple will discontinue the "Plus" iPhone model in 2025 while introducing an all-new iPhone 17 "Slim" model as an even more high-end option sitting...
Generic iPhone 17 Feature With Full Width Dynamic Island

Kuo: Ultra-Thin iPhone 17 to Feature A19 Chip, Single Rear Camera, Semi-Titanium Frame, and More

Wednesday July 24, 2024 9:06 am PDT by
Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today shared alleged specifications for a new ultra-thin iPhone 17 model rumored to launch next year. Kuo expects the device to be equipped with a 6.6-inch display with a current-size Dynamic Island, a standard A19 chip rather than an A19 Pro chip, a single rear camera, and an Apple-designed 5G chip. He also expects the device to have a...
iPhone 16 Pro Sizes Feature

iPhone 16 Series Is Less Than Two Months Away: Everything We Know

Thursday July 25, 2024 5:43 am PDT by
Apple typically releases its new iPhone series around mid-September, which means we are about two months out from the launch of the iPhone 16. Like the iPhone 15 series, this year's lineup is expected to stick with four models – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max – although there are plenty of design differences and new features to take into account. To bring ...
icloud private relay outage

iCloud Private Relay Experiencing Outage

Thursday July 25, 2024 3:18 pm PDT by
Apple’s iCloud Private Relay service is down for some users, according to Apple’s System Status page. Apple says that the iCloud Private Relay service may be slow or unavailable. The outage started at 2:34 p.m. Eastern Time, but it does not appear to be affecting all iCloud users. Some impacted users are unable to browse the web without turning iCloud Private Relay off, while others are...

Top Rated Comments

mambodancer Avatar
135 months ago
They're Doooomed!
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ryth Avatar
135 months ago
Analysts: Well Apple can only go down from here...this is bad news.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cymerc Avatar
135 months ago
And the stock prices will still fall :confused:
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jrswizzle Avatar
135 months ago
Tim Cook will probably come under fire for the company not releasing anything new this year, after saying that new products will be coming throughout this year. The fact that there hasn't been an Apple media event will be an issue.

It's March 19th? Last I checked there were still 287 days left in 2014....:confused:
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scaredpoet Avatar
135 months ago
And the stock prices will still fall :confused:
Not yet. This is the SETUP for the fall. The prediction is that it will be "another record quarter." This is intended to pump up the stock a bit. Then, when the quarterly results come out and Apple sells, say, 41.5 million iPhones instead of the "predicted" 42 million, the stock will take a dive because even though 41.5 mil would still be a record, not beating the estimate = DOOOOOOOMED.

Mark my words, this is *exactly* what will happen. Already, the hard data (as the article points out) suggest the number is closer to 38 million so far, not 42.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Born Again Avatar
135 months ago
Shipped. Not sold
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)