Without giving out numbers, Apple touts sales of the iPhone XR, which has been dogged by concerns of weak consumer acceptance.<\/b>
\nIPhone XR problems? What iPhone XR problems?
That was the basic sentiment put forward by Greg Joswiak, vice president of product marketing at Apple. In an interview with Reuters, he tried to allay fears that the iPhone XR has turned into a bit of a turkey during the holiday shopping season.
\u201cSince the iPhone XR became available, it\u2019s been the best-selling iPhone each and every day that it\u2019s been on sale,\u201d he said, adding that the iPhone XR is Apple\u2019s \u201cmost mainstream product and our most popular iPhone.\u201d
With a starting price of $749, how \u201cmainstream\u201d the iPhone XR is could be a matter of debate. However, the phone is a relative bargain compared to the $999 iPhone XS and $1,099 iPhone XS Max, both of which went on sale Sept. 21. The iPhone XR only went on sale Oct. 26.
However, concerns about the iPhone XR \u2014 and Apple\u2019s iPhone sales in general \u2014 have been on the rise throughout November. Apple has said it will o longer give quarterly unit sales figures for iPhones, iPads and Mac computers; earlier in the month, Lumentum, a provider of facial-recognition technology for Apple\u2019s iPhones, said one of its \u201clargest industrial and consumer customers \u201d cut its orders for the coming quarter.
Lumentum didn\u2019t say if that customer was Apple, but Apple is responsible for about 30 percent of Lumentum\u2019s annual revenue, and the company\u2019s announcement led man Apple watchers to believe it is seeing weaker iPhone sales ahead. And last week, reports surfaced saying Apple was offering subsidies on the iPhone XR to mobile-phone carriers in Japan in order to boost disappointing sales for the phone in the country.
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Apple launching tech camps for women in bid to diversify industry\t While Joswiak talked up the iPhone XR, not all analysts were sold on his enthusiasm.
On Thursday, Michael Walkley, of Canaccord Genuity, cut his price target on Apple\u2019s stock to $225 a share from $250, saying that a recent company survey of consumers suggests \u201cdisappointing initial iPhone XR sales,\u201d and \u201csoft smartphone and overall iPhone demand.\u201d
Apple shares slipped by 1.3 percent, to $178.61 on Thursday, and are down by more than 19 percent in November.<\/p>\n