Poor demand? Apple to discontinue this iPhone?

In the wake of poor demand for iPhone 12 mini, Apple may consider halting its production in the second quarter this year, according to multiple reports based on the new forecast note by JP Morgan Chase.

JP Morgan Chase supply chain analyst William Yang adjusted his forecast for the current iPhone 12 series and the next-generation iPhone series, expected to be launched in the second half of 2021.

Yang lowered the production volume of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 mini by 9 million units and 11 million units, respectively, reports AppleInsider.

According to him, "given that demand for the iPhone 12 mini seems to be weak, the supply chain may stop production of the phone in the second quarter of 2021".

The analyst, however, raised the iPhone 12 Pro Max sales forecast by 11 million units, iPhone 12 Pro by 2 million units and iPhone 11 by 8 million units.

Yang predicted that Apple aims to produce 80 million to 90 million iPhone 13 series, higher than the 76 million scheduled for the iPhone 12 series in the second half of 2020.

According to him, there may not be new iPhone SE models in 2021.

iPhone 12 mini is the smallest, thinnest, and lightest 5G smartphone in the world, re-architected to pack all the technology of iPhone 12 into a delightfully compact size, while still delivering an impressively large and immersive edge-to-edge display.

With a 5.4-inch screen, compared with the standard model's 6.1-inch display, it sports the same dual-camera setup on the back as the 12 model and looks absolutely stunning in hands.

Apple delivered a phenomenal performance in the December quarter, returning to the top position with 90.1 million devices shipped, driven by the success of the iPhone 12 series, according to data from the IDC's ‘Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker'.

For Apple, the festive quarter represents the highest shipment volume from a vendor in a single quarter and resulted in 23.4 per cent market share and 22.2 per cent (YoY) growth.

Apple is reportedly ramping up production of iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other devices in India and Vietnam to end its dependence on China and new iPhone 12 series could be assembled in India "as soon as this quarter", Nikkei Asia reported.