Apple (AAPL -0.35%) unveiled its latest iPhone lineup earlier this month, and it seems consumers are already warming up to the company's new devices, despite the pall of gloom over the global smartphone market.
Reports from various online publications suggest that the Apple Store application and website couldn't handle the volume of preorders, as customers faced a wide range of problems. This indicates that the website and app may have received more traffic than Apple had anticipated.
Now it appears the delivery times for certain iPhone 14 models are getting delayed. The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models now have estimated delivery dates in the U.S. of Oct. 17 to Oct. 24 and Oct. 24 to Oct. 31, respectively. According to Apple's press release announcing the launch of these models, they were supposed to be available from Sept. 16 in the U.S. The vanilla iPhone 14 and its Plus version, on the other hand, seem to be on schedule, as their estimated delivery times match their availability dates of Sept. 16 and Oct. 7, respectively.
This indicates that the higher-priced iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models, which start at $999 and $1,099, respectively, in the U.S., are in solid demand. That may seem a tad surprising given that smartphone shipments are falling in 2022 amid high inflation. However, the reportedly solid demand for the Pro and Pro Max models suggests that the new iPhones could set the sales charts on fire.
The iPhone 14 can get the cash registers ringing for Apple
Supply chain surveys indicate that the demand for Apple's more expensive iPhone 14 models is going to be strong this year. Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo points out that the two iPhone 14 Pro models account for 85% of the orders in China. Meanwhile, a survey of 9to5Mac readers reveals that 92% of the respondents are reportedly going to purchase the more expensive models.
What's more, the iPhone 14 Pro and the Pro Max models are also witnessing robust demand in price-sensitive markets such as India. The 128-gigabyte (GB) iPhone 14 Pro has a delivery window of Oct. 10 to Oct. 15 in India. The device is supposed to be available in India starting Sept. 16.
All of this indicates that Apple is likely to enjoy strong pricing power once again thanks to its updated models. The average selling price (ASP) of an iPhone increased an estimated 14% last year to $825, according to Counterpoint Research, thanks to the robust demand for the iPhone 13 models. The initial demand trends for the iPhone 14 models indicate that Apple may be able to maintain -- or even increase -- the ASP this year.
At the same time, Apple reportedly expects to sell more iPhone 14 units this year than the number of iPhone 13 models it sold in 2021. Supply chain gossip suggests that Apple told suppliers it will be making 95 million iPhone 14 units this year. That would be a nice bump over last year's estimated iPhone 13 sales of 80 million units.
Throw in the healthy demand that's being reported for the iPhone 14 Pro and the Pro Max models, and Apple seems to be on track to increase its iPhone revenue during the upcoming holiday season. That could give the company's top line a nice boost.
Impressive growth could be in the cards once again
Apple reported an all-time revenue record of $123.9 billion in its fiscal 2022 first quarter ended on Dec. 25, 2021. That was the first quarter following the launch of the iPhone 13 models.
The company shipped an estimated 85 million iPhones during that quarter, and the product generated $71.6 billion in revenue for Apple during last year's holiday season. If we assume that Apple manages to maintain its ASP of $825 in the December quarter this year and ships 95 million units, the iPhone could generate over $78 billion in revenue for the company.
So the tech giant may have another blockbuster holiday season driven by its biggest product, which accounted for nearly half of its top line last quarter. Moreover, solid sales of the iPhone 14 lineup could rub off positively on Apple's stock price. So investors looking to buy a tech stock right now may want to buy Apple before the holiday season arrives, as it is trading at 24 times trailing earnings -- a discount to its 2021 earnings multiple of 31x -- before it heads higher on the back of a potentially successful iPhone 14.
