Apple’s iPhone 15 Pro Max should account for 35-40% of initial iPhone 15 shipments when it debuts in September, says Apple industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. Kuo says Apple is aiming for iPhone 15 Pro Mac shipments to be 10-20% higher than for last year’s iPhone 14 Pro Max.
iPhone 15 Pro Max, the most expensive iPhone, accounts for 35–40% of iPhone 15 series shipments, the highest share. iPhone 15 Pro Max shipments in 2H24 also grew 10–20% YoY compared to iPhone 14 Pro Max in the same period. It means Apple is optimistic about the selling point of the periscope, which is only available in iPhone 15 Pro Max.
The main feature driving buyers to the iPhone 15 Pro Max is expected to be the periscope lens camera, which will result in a higher optical zoom of 5x–6x compared to the 3x optical zoom available in the current models. The periscope lens will be a Pro Max exclusive, before expanding to the iPhone 16 Pro in the next model year, which Ku says will result in a 70% year-over-year increase in the second half of 2024.
Thanks to iPhone 16 Pro’s adoption of periscope camera, it is estimated that the shipment of iPhone periscope lenses will increase by 70% YoY in 2H24.
Apple and its supplier of periscope lenses, Largan, is expected to start with production of 15–20 million iPhone units equipped with the component this year before growing by 70–80% to around 30 million next year.
Kuo says the periscope lens costs Apple three to four times more than other high-end lenses, which could contribute to the expected $100 to $200 price increase for the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max.
The iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models are expected to debut at an Apple event on Tuesday, September 12. iPhone 15 pre-orders would likely kick off on Friday, September 15, with units hitting shelves following on Friday, September 22.