iPhone 17 will drive record Apple shipments in 2025: IDC
Apple’s latest iPhone models are on display at the Regent Street store in London on the launch day of the iPhone 17.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
Apple iPhone shipments will hit a record high this year, driven by its latest models and a revival in its key market, China, research firm IDC predicts.
The company will ship 247.4 million iPhones in 2025, an annual increase of just over 6%, according to IDC’s report on Tuesday. That’s more than the 236 million the iPhone 13 sold in 2021 when it was launched.
Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC, said in a statement that Apple’s projected increase was “thanks to the phenomenal success of the latest iPhone 17 series,” adding that “strong demand for iPhone 17 in China has significantly accelerated Apple’s performance.”
Shipments is a term used by analysts to refer to the number of devices a seller ships to sales channels such as e-commerce partners or stores. They do not directly refer to sales, but indicate the demand a company expects for its products.
When it launched in September, investors viewed the iPhone 17 series as an important set of devices for Apple, which faces increasing competition in China and questions about its artificial intelligence strategy as Android rivals gain ground.
Apple’s shipments are expected to grow 17% year-over-year in China in the fourth quarter, IDC said, leading the research firm to forecast 3% growth in the market this year.
In China, local players such as Huawei are taking away Apple’s market share.
IDC’s report follows up on Counterpoint Research, which predicted last week that Apple will sell more smartphones than Samsung in 2025 for the first time in 14 years.
Bloomberg Last month, it was reported that Apple might delay the release of its next device, the base model of the iPhone 18, until 2027, breaking its regular cycle of releasing all of its phones in the fall each year. IDC said this could mean Apple’s shipments could fall by 4.2% next year.
