With the hugely popular iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus launching on September 25, Apple looks likely to record healthy sales in not only the soon-to-end September quarter, but also the following December quarter – largely due to a convenient calendar shift, according to RBC Capital Markets.
This year, the September quarter will end on September 26. This is nine days earlier than last year’s corresponding quarter, and means that the coveted new iPhones will be on the market for only two days before the December quarter starts.
In a note, RBC analysts wrote that this calendar change “will essentially drive in an extra week of high unit sales in the Dec-quarter this year”. The note, as reported by MarketWatch, added: “At minimum given the extended lead-times for 6S Plus, this should add 2-2.5 million incremental units in Dec-quarter ($1.5-2.0 billion revenue).”
The mention of “extended lead-times” clearly refers to the lengthy shipping estimates for many models of the iPhone 6S Plus, including many in the new rose gold color. Shipping delays have been especially pronounced in China, an increasingly lucrative market for Apple.
