Apple has recently announced to replace batteries of iPhones for a discount which was hailed as a good PR move. However, this could hit the iPhone sales, said an analyst of reserch firm Barclay.
As per Mark Moskowitz of Barclays, “Even a small percentage [of customers] opting for battery replacement over upgrade could have meaningful impact on iPhone sales.”
Moskowitz estimates of around 519 million users who are eligible for the battery offer, about 10 percent are likely to take the battery replacement offer. But he warned that about 30 percent of those people may not buy a new iPhone this year which means Apple could miss out on 16 million iPhone upgrades in 2018.
Apple recently offered to replace the batteries of its iPhones for a discount after it came to light that its update were slowing down the phones due to battery issues. In India, Apple has cut down the price of battery replacements to Rs 2,000 (exclusive taxes). Earlier, users need to pay Rs 6,500 for battery replacement for older iPhones. The new battery replacement programme is eligible for iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, iPhone SE, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.