Apple tests growth with early sale
Firm banks on holiday demand for devices to reverse slump
Apple’s latest iPhones and watches went on sale Friday, a test of whether a new smartphone design and modest smartwatch changes can help return the company to growth.
The devices are going on sale in about 40 countries in its first wave, including in Australia, Hong Kong, mainland China, the U.S., U.K. and France. The iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max models will represent Apple’s biggest sellers throughout the rest of the year — and the ability to both create and fulfill demand for the products will make or break its Christmas quarter.
So far, the new devices have fared well for Apple, based on the initial online sales of the product. New online orders for the highest-end iPhone 15 models won’t arrive for customers until at least mid-November in several countries, while reservations for in-store pickups quickly sold out.
Initial buyers of the latest iPhone typically order it online, making it harder to gauge demand based on the length of lines. Aside from the first two iPhone launches in 2007 and 2008 — as well as the iPhone 5s debut in 2013 — Apple has offered early orders for the iPhone with delivery on release day.
Still, long lines for the iPhone 15 formed in Dubai, Australia and China, indicating that those who could not secure day one orders online are still willing to brave long nights and early hours to be one of the first to own a new iPhone — and even a new Apple Watch.
China is of particular interest because the government is expanding a ban on iPhone use in certain agencies and state-owned enterprises, and rival Huawei Technologies just introduced its Mate 60 Pro. Still, customers flocked to Apple stores in cities like Beijing as sales began. The
China market accounts for about a fifth of Apple’s revenue.
In the Dubai Mall, Ali Maimoon from Indore, India, showed up at 2:30 a.m. in hopes of getting an iPhone despite being unable to register online. He joined a throng of hundreds outside the mall, which opened at 6 a.m. Once inside, the Apple Store had three layers of security to prevent a mob from forming and only allowed people who had registered past the cordon.
The scene was more subdued at the Apple Store in Covent Garden, London, where nine customers were in line twenty minutes before opening to collect their purchases. Approximately two dozen others who had reserved products but not yet paid were also waiting for the doors to open at 8 a.m.
In New York’s Lincoln Square, approximately 50 people waited in line 20 minutes before the store opened. Most were there to upgrade their existing phones. Doug Edwards, from Memphis, said he was visiting the city and was looking for something to do, and didn’t want to wait two weeks to get a new phone. “I’m stuck on this stuff,” he said. “I tried the Samsung but I’m an old guy and you just get used to something.”
While the iPhone 15 Pro has seen strong early demand, the company’s other new products have gotten a more muted response online. The regular iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models, in addition to the new AirPods with a USB-C case, Apple Watch ULTRA 2 and Apple Watch Series 9 are still seeing strong availability, aside from certain Apple Watch band configurations.
The iPhone represents about half of Apple’s overall revenue and the company is banking on the device to help it break a streak of sales declines and return to growth during the critical holiday period, which is its first quarter of fiscal 2024.