If you are a fan of Apple’s 4-inch iPhone SE, then you might be disappointed to learn that Apple allegedly has no plans of releasing a new model in 2017. The information comes from KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, who also notes that Apple will see a decline in iPhone sales in the first quarter of 2017. Ming-Chi-Kuo is no stranger to the Apple news circle as he has previously predicted Apple sale trends and product launches quite accurately. Slowing iPhone and iPad sales will indirectly result in lower downloads for App Store apps and traffic.
The main reason for Apple not introducing a new model for the iPhone SE according to Kuo is that the company does not want iPhone SE to cannibalize the sales of its flagship and more expensive iPhone 7. This however seems like a strange claim since not only Apple has shown in the recent past that it is not afraid of cannibalizing its own product sales, but the iPhone SE targets a completely different segment of the market. Its main buyers include those who either don’t want to spend too much on a smartphone, people who belong to emerging markets such as India and China as well as those who prefer the 4-inch smaller form factor that iPhone SE has to offer.
Ming-Chi Kuo also notes that Apple is increasingly putting pressure on its component makers to reduce the prices of components used in the production of iOS devices. The company is doing so in order to increase its already handsome profit margins. This seems understandable as Apple in its recent conference call to investors provided a lower gross margin guidance of 38 to 38.5 percent instead of 39 percent expected by Wall Street.
The current model of the iPhone SE that is on sale by Apple launched in March of 2016, so it was expected of Apple to introduce a new version in the first half of 2017. That it seems like is not going to happen.
