Apple could be in for tough times over the next couple of quarters as iPhone shipments could drop by 36% during April-June due to Covid-19 lockdowns and things may not get better in the subsequent quarter as the company’s next flagship launch may happen only in November, a report by Goldman Sachs says.
In the report, the brokerage firm says there would be no reduction in loyalty to Apple among iPhone owners during this period though several of them may delay purchases or opt for cheaper models such as the iPhone SE 2020 that was released last week.
Goldman Sachs also noted that the trend wasn’t exclusive to Apple, given that average selling prices for consumer devices are expected to decline during the next several months till such time as the global economy recovers from the Covid-19 induced shocks caused by production shutdowns and job losses.
It is expected that Apple would be able to launch the upcoming iPhone models only by early November as limited global travel could impede the company’s final engineering and production processes, the report says.
A survey conducted by Bloomberg notes that Apple could sell 28 million iPhones during the quarter ending June, which represents a sharp decline in year-on-year numbers though the company’s chief executive officer Tim Cook struck an optimistic note during an all-hands meeting late last week.
Bloomberg had reported that Cook highlighted Apple’s strong financial position while maintaining that it would continue to invest in research and development as well as on new product offerings in a significant manner so that it would be ready to take on the post-Covid-19 world.
