In a report released from the AlphaWise tracker, Apple will have shipped 40 million iPhone units in the June quarter which is pretty much in line with the consensus.
One of the important drivers for this estimate is the projected iPhone SE demand. Analysts have noticed that there is still several days of wait time on the Apple website for certain iPhone models suggesting the gap between the supply and demand on some of these models.
The iPhone SE is also quite modestly priced for an iPhone, with versions packing 16 gigabytes of storage selling for just $399 without contract and 64 gigabyte models selling for $499. Studies have shown that there is a big market for Apple products at the sub $500 range.
On the company’s last earnings call, shortly after the launch of the iPhone SE, CEO Tim Cook said that demand “has been very strong and exceeds supply at this point.” The executive did say that the company was working to “get the iPhone SE into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible.”
Although supply seems to have improved, it doesn’t look like Apple has reached supply/demand balance for these products yet.
Although iPhone SE shipments for upcoming quarter are projected to be in line with consensus, it is worth noting that the gross margin of iPhone SE at 40% is lower than that of other iPhone models. This may result in impacting the overall gross margin for the upcoming quarter given the shift in iPhone SE mix.
With rumors of new iPhone 7 models to be available by Sept, the portfolio mix might once again shift to higher gross margins.