Apple Will Not Release First Weekend Sales Numbers for iPhone 7 Due to Demand Outweighing Supply

apple-iphone7Apple, in a statement provided to CNBC, has announced that it will not be releasing first weekend sales numbers for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, as it feels the results are "no longer a representative metric" due to demand outweighing supply.

“We expect iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus will be incredibly popular with customers and we are thrilled to begin taking pre-orders on September 9. Customers will receive their new iPhones starting September 16.

In years past, we’ve announced how many new iPhones had been sold as of the first weekend following launch. But as we have expanded our distribution through carriers and resellers to hundreds of thousands of locations around the world, we are now at a point where we know before taking the first customer pre-order that we will sell out of iPhone 7.

These initial sales will be governed by supply, not demand, and we have decided that it is no longer a representative metric for our investors and customers. Therefore we won’t be releasing a first-weekend number any longer. We are reiterating the financial guidance for the September quarter that we provided on July 26.”

In a research note last week, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said mass production of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus did not begin until the second half of August, later than expected, as Apple's supply chain faced issues ramping up production due to challenging requirements for IPX7 water resistance.

The statement has ignited concern among some investors about potentially weaker iPhone sales numbers. Kuo himself revised his iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus shipments forecast to 20 to 25 million units in the quarter, compared to his original estimate of 30 million units. AAPL is currently down around 2% to $106.20 in intraday trading following the announcement.

Apple's first weekend sales had increased sequentially for each iPhone launch between the iPhone 4s in 2011 and iPhone 6s in 2015:

iPhone 6s and 6s Plus Sales Top Thirteen Million in Launch Weekend
iPhone 6 and 6 Plus Sales Top Ten Million in Launch Weekend
iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c Sales Top Nine Million in Launch Weekend
iPhone 5 Sales Top Five Million in Launch Weekend
iPhone 4S Sales Top 4 Million as 25 Million Users Move to iOS 5

Apple reiterated its financial guidance of between $45.5 billion and $47.5 billion in revenue for the fourth fiscal quarter.

Tag: AAPL
Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases Firmware Updates for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods 4

Monday November 11, 2024 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released firmware updates for both AirPods 4 models (version number 7B20) and the AirPods Pro 2 with both Lightning and USB-C charging cases (version number 7B21). All of these AirPods models were previously on firmware version 7B19. It is not immediately clear what new features or changes are included in firmware versions 7B20 and 7B21, but we will update this story if we find...
New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

18 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Wednesday November 13, 2024 2:09 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.2 next month, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. There are a handful of new non-AI related feature controls incoming as well....
iPhone SE 4 Thumb 1

iPhone SE 4 Camera Modules to Enter Mass Production Next Month

Tuesday November 12, 2024 2:56 am PST by
Apple's camera module supplier for the upcoming iPhone SE 4 is set to begin mass production of the components in December, according to a new report coming out of Korea. Economic newspaper Ajunews reports that LG Innotek will supply the front camera module for the budget-friendly fourth-generation device. Final tests are now said to be underway, with mass production of the module following...
iphone 6 thickness

iPhone 17 'Air' May Not Be Much Thinner Than iPhone 6

Monday November 11, 2024 5:18 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 17 "Air" model may not be as thin as Apple planned, according to a rumor originating in Korea. According to the news aggregator account "yeux1122" on Naver, citing industry sources, Apple has run into problems making the new iPhone 17 model sufficiently thin. The device's reduced thickness is apparently dependent on manufacturing a battery with a thinner substrate, but...
new mac holiday

The Best Early Black Friday Mac Deals

Monday November 11, 2024 7:45 am PST by
Black Friday is getting closer, and prices on MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, and Mac mini computers have started to drop as the shopping holiday nears. These deals include the latest models of the M4 MacBook Pro and iMac. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site...
iOS 18

Here's Everything New in iOS 18.2 Beta 3

Monday November 11, 2024 4:53 pm PST by
Apple seeded the third betas of iOS 18.2 and iPadOS 18.2 to developers for testing today. While the third betas of each update are minor relative to the first two betas, there are still a handful of changes across the Photos app, TV app, and more. A corresponding iOS 18.2 public beta with these changes will likely be released later this week, and Apple previously confirmed that the software...
General Final Cut Pro Feature

Apple Likely to Announce Final Cut Pro Update This Week With These New Features

Sunday November 10, 2024 12:13 pm PST by
In its announcement video for the new Mac mini last month, Apple teased an "upcoming" version of Final Cut Pro for the Mac. Apple will likely announce the update during the annual Final Cut Pro Creative Summit, which begins this Wednesday. The conference is held in association with Apple, and attendees will be visiting Apple Park on the first day. Apple already teased four new features...
iPad iOS 16 WP Display Feature eric edit

Apple to Launch AI-Powered Home 'Command Center' as Soon as March 2025

Tuesday November 12, 2024 1:09 pm PST by
Apple is planning to launch an AI-powered smart home display as soon as March 2025, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. The display will measure in at approximately six inches, and while it is similar to an iPad, it is square rather than rectangular and it has thick bezels around the edges. There is a camera at the top front so that it can be used for FaceTime, plus there are internal speakers...

Top Rated Comments

samac92 Avatar
107 months ago
They don't want "iPhone 7 less popular than iPhone 6s" headlines to spoil the launch weekend.
Score: 50 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BMcCoy Avatar
107 months ago
= we know it's going to be a flop.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
spiderman0616 Avatar
107 months ago
Apple: Launch weekend numbers are not useful anymore, always get spun as negative, and are always limited by supply no matter what that supply number is. Therefore we're just not going to bother reporting it anymore.

MacRumors forum trolls: This phone is a flop.

God I hate this site sometimes.
Score: 38 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mac Rules Avatar
107 months ago
So that's a flop then.

The non-existant Apple Watch numbers have always inspired such confidence.
Score: 32 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rogifan Avatar
107 months ago
They don't want "iPhone 7 less popular than iPhone 6s" headlines to spoil the launch weekend.
Exactly. Smart. I'm glad they've stopped releasing sales figures outside of earnings calls. No one else does it. All it does is create a big fat unnecessary target that they're probably not going to surpass anymore now that the market is more mature/saturated.
Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)
scottish Avatar
107 months ago
Supply more then.
Score: 28 Votes (Like | Disagree)