IPhone xs reserves are below expectations

As I dared to anticipate last Friday, the reserves of the new iPhone Xs are not turning out as Apple expected, either because many users prefer the larger model, or because others much prefer to wait for the iPhone Xr. By contrast, the reserves of the new Apple Watch Series 4 would be "better than expected, " says analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

The iPhone Xr would already be cannibalizing the sales of the iPhone Xs

Popular analyst Ming-Chi Kuo yesterday issued one of his notes to which Joe Rossignol of MacRumors has had access, about the reserves of the iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and Apple Watch Series 4 during the first weekend of sale.

Kuo says that the reserves of the new generation of the Apple watch have been "better than expected", as a result of new innovative functions, such as support for electrocardiogram. It predicts that Apple Watch sales will reach 18 million units in 2018, of which 50-55% will correspond to Watch 4. In addition, the analyst predicts that, if the ECG support expands to more countries (whose validation depends from national health authorities), sales could be even better.

By contrast, the iPhone XS stocks are "below expectations" as customers opt for the iPhone XS Max or to wait for the iPhone XR, a very similar device but € 300 cheaper than the Xs. Kuo has lowered his forecast for iPhone XS orders from 15-20% to 10-15% of total orders for the new 2018 iPhone.

In contrast, Kuo says orders for the iPhone XS Max are in line with expectations, which would reinforce the high price policy established by the Cupertino company.

Kuo is optimistic about the upcoming sales of the iPhone Xr, which reserves to open on October 19, especially due to its lower price and physical dual-SIM support in China. Thus, their predictions have risen to 55-60% of total orders for the new 2018 iPhone.

This trend would explain why Apple has delayed the launch of the iPhone Xr: reduce the cannibalization that this terminal will have on iPhone Xs models.