Can Apple Sell 200 Million iPhone 15s?

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
By Douglas A. McIntyre Published
This post may contain links from our sponsors and affiliates, and Flywheel Publishing may receive compensation for actions taken through them.
Can Apple Sell 200 Million iPhone 15s?

© Apple Inc.

Educated experts estimate that Apple has sold 1.9 billion iPhones. One billion of those are still in circulation. Since 2015, iPhone sales have averaged just over 200 million a year. As the iPhone 15 is launched within the next two months, Apple faces the question of momentum. Can it sell 200 million of this generation between September of this year and August of 2024? (These iconic gadgets have shaped our lives since the 1950s.)
[in-text-ad]
Rumor has it that the border size around the display will be smaller, according to Bloomberg. It will have a better camera, an upgrade for almost each generation of the smartphone.
[nativounit]
For many users, the benefit is the improved camera. Ironically, most people do not know how to use all its features. The company enhances the brand without “upgrading” it for the typical customer.

No matter how useful, upgraded features have been the hallmark of new iPhones. The public anticipates the changes, and it gets them. Once they own the phones, most people forget why they upgraded from the last model.
[wallst_email_signup]
Apple has mastered one of the key aspects of extremely valuable brands. It launches new features with a great deal of fanfare. However, the features are a ruse. Among the masters of this technique are car companies, which have been doing it for decades. The personal computer industry has sold its wares because they have more powerful chips. In reality, almost no one can tell the difference.
[recirclink id=1172911]
If the upgrade cycle works, the only headwind Apple faces is the economy. This is true in the United States, but perhaps its is more critical in China because it is the world’s largest smartphone market. For iPhone sales forecasters, “It’s the economy, stupid” is the key.

Photo of Douglas A. McIntyre
About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.

Featured Reads

Our top personal finance-related articles today. Your wallet will thank you later.

Continue Reading

Top Gaining Stocks

CBOE Vol: 1,568,143
PSKY Vol: 12,285,993
STX Vol: 7,378,346
ORCL Vol: 26,317,675
DDOG Vol: 6,247,779

Top Losing Stocks

LKQ
LKQ Vol: 4,367,433
CLX Vol: 13,260,523
SYK Vol: 4,519,455
MHK Vol: 1,859,865
AMGN Vol: 3,818,618