Signal intelligence shows strong iPhone 12 demand

Businesses hoping to deploy Apple’s first 5G phones may have to wait a while, as pre-orders today appear to be inordinately strong. As of mid-morning (ET), Apple’s ordering systems are already creaking under the strain as the devices go on sale, (though people seem to be having more luck using the Apple Store mobile app).

Triple measures

iPhone 12 pre-reservations sold out in 45 minutes in Taiwan this morning, local reports claim, and it seems the volume of orders is triple that of the iPhone 11 in 2019.

We’re seeing similar activity elsewhere in China, where more than 2.3 million pre-orders were placed across Chinese e-commerce platforms, according to the South China Morning Post (or 1.7 million according to Global Times). This matches claims from Digitimes, which says carriers offering customers the chance to pre-register for the devices sold out in similar time.

While it is important to note that this early Chinese market data is slightly flawed as customers are simply reserving the devices, rather than paying for them, it does provide some insight into probable purchasing patterns.

 The danger is that as global trading relations continue to atrophy, consumers in some markets may begin preferring local manufacturers above the U.S.-based firm across the coming months.

Springing into a supercycle?

The velocity of these orders provides a hint at the scale of interest, particularly important in a context in which so many analysts are predicting a sales supercycle — and if such a cycle does take place, it’s probable that many enterprises will see employees begin making use of these devices on their networks.

That’s not unusual behavior in itself – it’s something that takes place every year when Apple introduces new iPhones. And when it comes to the OS that drives those smartphones most enterprises will already have spent at least some time exploring iOS 14 to assess its security and network compliance.

In fact, the biggest news this year will be 5G. But with networks available only in specific geographies most enterprises will be relatively laid-back on the transition. All the same, business users who do want to begin deployment of the new iPhones may face some problems getting them, the APAC sales figures show.