It's pretty well-known that early iPhone 7 orders have been stronger than expected. What's less appreciated is how the makeup of those orders could strengthen iPhone average selling price (ASP) and gross margin in its September and December quarters.
Data released Thursday from e-commerce research firm Slice indicates 55% of consumers who ordered an iPhone 7 on Sept. 9 or 10--the first two days pre-orders were available--ordered the iPhone 7-Plus. By contrast, only 41% and 35% of iPhone 6S and iPhone 6 buyers respectively ordered the 6S-Plus and 6-Plus during the phones' first two days of pre-orders.
Those numbers are backed up by Apple's (AAPL) commentary. Thursday, the company said initial 7-Plus supplies have sold out, along with those of jet black iPhone 7 models, and that the devices won't initially be available for walk-in customers at Apple's retail stores.
Strong 7-Plus demand should boost ASPs, since the phone features a $769 starting price, $20 above the 6S-Plus' starting price and $120 above the standard iPhone 7's starting price. The 7-Plus' inclusion of a dual-lens camera not found on the 7 is likely lifting its sales.
On the other hand, sales data for iPhone 7 models with higher storage capacities is more mixed, no doubt thanks to Apple's decision to double the storage it provides for each price tier. Slice's data indicates 14% of initial buyers opted for the lowest-capacity iPhone 7 models, which this year sport 32GB of storage. That's up from 9% for the iPhone 6S, albeit down from 20% for the iPhone 6.
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