Pre-Order Demand High for Apple Watch Series 4, ‘Lower-Than-Expected’ for iPhone XS: Ming-Chi Kuo

Famed Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo of TF Securities has released an investor note detailing his opinions on first-week pre-orders and predictions for Apple‘s new 2018 iPhone lineup and the all-new Apple Watch Series 4.

According to the note from the well-known analyst (via MacRumors), Apple Watch Series 4 pre-orders were “better than expected” thanks to the range of new features on the wearable, including Apple Watch’s larger screen-sizes, and 64-bit dual-core processor that makes this years Apple Watch up to 2x faster than the previous generation, alongside the ability to soon take an electrocardiogram from your watch.

Kuo claims that pre-orders for the regular iPhone XS have been “lower-than-expected.” This is presumably due to a lack of external changes and new features in comparison to last year’s iPhone X. Additionally, it seems that interest in the larger iPhone XS Max and the cheaper iPhone XR are also playing a roll in the weaker numbers.

Moving on the iPhone XS Max, Kuo says the demand for the 6.5-inch model is high in China due to the gold colour option, larger screen, and dual-SIM support. Kuo also increased his forecast for the iPhone XR, which according to him will account for 55 to 60 percent of shipments of the 2018 iPhone lineup. The analyst believes that shipments of the new iPhones will slightly increase year over year to 75-80 million units.

Kuo believes that the hype around the iPhone XS will be minimal, while the iPhone XS Max and iPhone XR will shine throughout this holiday quarter. He expects iPhone XR to make up for about 55 to 60 percent of the new model shipments this year, while iPhone XS Max will make up for about 30 percent of the new model shipments.

Furthermore, Kuo notes that the Apple Watch Series 4 will account for 18 million shipments in 2018 alone, and this is purely due to new features like ECG introduced on the device. The analyst claims that the watch will see even more sales if it gets regulatory approval for ECG in other regions, and is introduced outside of US as well. The analyst predicts that the new Apple Watch models will account for 55 percent of Apple Watch shipments.