Apple's new iPhone SE shipments are expected to reach 30 million units in 2022, about the same as shipped volumes of 25-30 million units of its predecessor in its first year (2020) of release, according to estimation by DIGITIMES Research analysts Sean Lin and Luke Lin.
Apple has already prepared components for less than five million units of the new iPhone SE in the first quarter, but actual shipments for the entry-level smartphone will be lower than that in the first quarter.
However, the smartphone's shipments in the second quarter are expected to go up significantly to 11 million units, while the volumes in the third quarter will stay at around the same level before slowing down in the fourth quarter, paving way for the release of the next-generation iPhone 14.
The latest figures from DIGITIMES Research's Smartphone Tracker show the new iPhone SE, as well as Samsung Electronics and Chinese brand vendors' new 5G phones, are expected to significantly drive up 5G handset shipments to non-China markets in 2022.
In 2021, a total of around 280 million 5G handsets were shipped to non-China markets, but the number is expected to rise sharply by over 60% to over 450 million units, accounting for 63.5% of the worldwide volumes.
However, China, where nearly 80% of its handset shipments are already 5G models, is only expected to witness a single-digit shipment growth on year in 2022 with its share in the global 5G smartphone market slipping to only 36.5%.
