iPhone 7 Tops Demand For iPhone 8

Apple’s newest iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X are garnering interest from consumers, but a new survey from RBC Capital Markets finds it’s not at the same rates as was the case with the launch of the iPhone 7.

According to news from CNBC, citing the Wall Street firm, RBC found that of those polled, 64 percent said they wanted to buy one of the new devices Apple unveiled in September. However, that’s compared to the 71 percent that expressed interest in purchasing the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus when they were released last year.

“Outlook on units could be less positive in the initial months,” wrote RBC Capital Markets’ Amit Daryanani in a note to clients covered by CNBC. “On aggregate, 64 percent of prospective iPhone buyers preferred the new generation of iPhones, which is slightly lower than 71 percent for iPhone 7/7+ models last year. We think this is likely due to Apple not phasing out iPhone 6s and giving a wider offering to customers.” The Wall Street company polled 4,000 consumers to get a sense of their technology usage and what they plan to purchase on the smartphone front to determine probable Apple iPhone sales.

While less survey respondents are signaling interest in acquiring the iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus, RBC remains positive on Apple’s prospects when it comes to smartphone sales. The company believes the higher price point for the iPhone X will bode well for Apple, given more than half of survey respondents who want to purchase an iPhone will go with a larger storage model, which means higher prices and better gross margins for Apple. As a result of RBC’s bullishness, Daryanani upped his price target on Apple’s stock to $180, which implies shares can gain an additional 17 percent from where they closed on Friday.