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Better-than-expected demand for its latest handset has reportedly prompted Apple Inc. to ask suppliers to ramp up production for its iPhone 11 models.
Apple AAPL, +0.85% has asked for a 10% boost to production, roughly 8 million units, the Nikkei Asian Review reported Friday, citing a source who said the fall has been “so far much busier than we expected.”
That source said the company has been “quite conservative” with orders in the past. “After the increase, prepared production volume for the iPhone 11 series will be higher compared with last year,” the source said.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MarketWatch.
Apple pushed out three new phones in early September, iPhone 11, with an asking price of $699, the iPhone 11 Pro, which starts at $999 and the iPhone 11 Pro Max, which starts at $1,099. Its base model made its debut at a cheaper price than last year’s XR.
Some have questioned whether consumers should upgrade to the newer phones when 5G models are expected to roll out year.
In a down week for U.S. stock markets, Apple has stood out with a 1% gain as of Thursday, when it closed up 0.9% to $220.82. Frankfurt-listed shares of Apple rose nearly 2% on Friday, while across Europe, several companies with exposure to Apple climbed, led by a 3.6% gain for one of its suppliers, Austrian-based AMS AG AMS, +0.94%, which develops sensor technology.
The company’s market value pushed above $1 trillion earlier in the week after a JPMorgan analyst lifted his price target on shares to $265 from $243 on stronger-than-expected sales of new iPhone 11 models.
Read: Apple’s new iPhones reportedly selling better than their predecessors
Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook said sales of the new iPhone 11 series are off to a “very strong start, in an interview with German daily Bild that published late Monday.
