U.S. carriers are practically giving the iPhone 12 away says analyst Harsh Kamar.
From a note to clients by that landed on my desktop early Thursday:
We are raising our Apple iPhone estimates, as we believe the heavy carrier promotions will drive significant upgrades for the iPhone 12 series. The iPhone 12 launch has become a subscription battleground for carriers, as they are all offering sizable promotions to keep or add new customers. We feel these promotions will drive iPhone 12 demand over the next several months, which is in sharp contrast to our survey that pointed to somewhat lackluster demand. We note these promotional activities have unfolded shortly after the October 13 launch and a few weeks after our survey. Overall, we continue to believe Apple will be the premiere 5G smartphone provider across the globe over the next several years. We reiterate our Overweight rating.
Carrier Subsidies Create a No-Brainer Upgrade: Overall, we see demand for the iPhone 12 series being strong, contrary to our recent survey. The major difference in our thinking is the carriers are being extremely aggressive with subsidies, almost to the point where they are giving the phone away for minimal costs. In our view, it is nearly impossible for the consumer to ignore the upgrade possibility given the current subsidy offerings. For example, AT&T is offering up to $800 in its promotion, which compares to $850 price tag for a 128GB iPhone 12.
Maintains Outperform rating, raises target to $135 from $130.
Cue quotes from the carriers:
My take: I'm surprised more analysts haven't seen the light.
Gee, that’s too bad (note sarcasm).
I’ve whip sawed on my decision to upgrade on reports of just how bad 5G coverage is, but with discounts up to $800 the point may be moot.
I’m looking for other reasons beyond 5G to upgrade to a 12. My XS does not have the camera upgrade that started with the 11 and now there’s LiDAR too in the Pro?
I think a hefty discount or good deal is an additional factor for folks to consider. I don’t upgrade every year (before the XSMax, I had the 6S Max), so I am usually extremely pleased by what I see are major upgrades between my purchases.
January is my target!
Why not now?
I have more prioritized life things to do before January so iP12ProMAX can wait.
CONGRATZ on your 12, I hope you get it and love it! 🙂
At first I thought wait for Apple’s 5G silicon. Plus I’m ready to ditch ATT. Throw in almost free upgrade.
But I was never able to make sense of the net cost for the Telco options, so I can’t verify the actual ‘give away’ part!
There seems evolving among most WS analysts a new and refreshing spirit-of-edification that Apple deserves its higher multiple and is positioned as the avant-garde in the tech industry for the next decade.
Apple’s commanding lead in SmartPhones, drags along all their other products.
Only a few analysts understand the depth and breadth of Apple’s lead.