Kuo says the iPhone 15 Pro Max begins “mass shipments” this week

Reliable supply chain analyst Ming Chi Kuo says Apple’s upcoming iPhone 15 Pro Max will “begin mass shipments this week” despite reports of supply chain issues. Kuo also expects stronger unit shipments compared to other analysts who have recently lowered their forecasts.

“The market is concerned that iPhone 15 shipments will be further reduced due to supply chain issues (my estimate is 80 million units vs. conservative views of 70-80 million units), especially iPhone 15 Pro Max shipments will be delayed.” Ku writes.

“However, the reality is that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will start mass shipping this week, and Apple is also working to increase shipments of older models simultaneously.”

9to5Mac It was reported a week ago that a large stock analyst note described by a source claimed that the iPhone 15 Pro Max will see a delay of three to four weeks compared to other models.

We also covered recent analyst forecast updates from Jeff Pu and Japan’s Bank Mizuho which include cuts to iPhone 15 unit shipment forecasts. Pu’s forecast dropped from 83 million to 77 million units. Mizuho lowered its production estimates from 84 million to 73 million units.

The most popular smartphone

However, Kuo is holding strong at 80 million iPhone 15 units shipped while projecting 250 million iPhones shipped through 2024. The analyst also believes that Apple could overtake Samsung in units shipped in 2023.

“Samsung’s smartphone shipments have dropped to 220 million units this year,” Kuo wrote. “If Apple keeps iPhone orders in the second half of 2024 unchanged, iPhone shipments are expected to reach 220-225 million units in 2023, overtaking Samsung as the largest smartphone brand.”

Kuo expects the iPhone to overtake Samsung in 2024 as well.

9to5Mac I recently reported that Apple will no longer offer a gold color option with the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max. Instead, Apple is replacing it with “Titan Gray” using the new titanium frame. The Deep Purple special edition will be replaced with a new dark blue option.

We expect Apple to unveil the iPhone 15 lineup on September 12th. It is likely that Apple will officially announce the date between tomorrow, August 29, and Tuesday, September 5.