SAN FRANCISCO — How many iPhones can Apple sell?
With the company hitting sales records with each annual release, that’s a question facing Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook as the latest batch of handsets began landing in stores Friday around the world. The newest models, following a hugely popular design overhaul last year that added bigger screens, may not match the success of previous releases, according to analysts.
Demand for the new iPhones appears lower than last year, “possibly meaningfully so,” said Andy Hargreaves, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities who studied Google search data, shipment times and third-party surveys. Analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. and RBC Capital Markets also raised concerns about iPhone growth. Since 2013, iPhone sales have increased an average of about 35 percent each quarter. In October to December last year, Apple sold 74.6 million iPhones — about 34,000 iPhone purchases per hour.
Expectations are tempered partly because the gadget is at the point in its two-year design cycle that entails less-dramatic changes. In the first year, Apple generally overhauls the device’s hardware, including its look and feel. For the following year’s model, designated with an “s” tacked on to the number, the Cupertino, Calif.-based company makes more subtle improvements.
The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus resemble last year’s versions but sport new features such as 3D Touch, which provides a shortcut for checking mail, taking pictures and other functions when the user presses down on the screen. Apple also added an improved camera and zippier processor.