We had always suspected that Apple was the biggest beneficiary of the US clampdown on Huawei. Things are starting to unravel as the start of the US trade ban on Huawei draws near.
Production estimates published by Cowen shows that Apple is preparing to increase iPhone production in order to take advantage of the US-Huawei trade ban. However, the increase in production is going to be rather modest. Initially, Apple’s production estimate put iPhones shipment at 39 million units. However, that has been jacked up to 40 million. A breakdown shows Apple expects to ship about 30 million iPhone XS, XS Max and XR with the rest of the 10 million spread across iPhone 7 and iPhone 8. The increase is due to speculations that demand for the iPhone could increase in some markets following Huawei’s ban.
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The ban may not be very favourable to Apple entirely, though. Analysts warn that the US company faces big risks in medium-term because of the political instability between the US and China. Tariffs on some of the hardware manufactured in China may affect iPhone production and sales. In addition, Apple may not be the go-to guy for fans looking to switch from Huawei phones, if eventually Google complies with the US trade embargo. There are other alternative brands that won’t rip a hole in our pockets and yet deliver on quality, like OnePlus, Xiaomi, OPPO phones. Samsung may also be a beneficiary ahead of Apple.
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