On Monday Patently Apple posted a report titled "As Apple enters calendar Q2, normal Seasonality is set to begin with a little extra pressure due to China other external factors." Shipments always drop in Q2 after a heavy holiday quarter. Attempting to couch the seasonal drop as a "problem" is disingenuous of some in the press. Today, analysts over at the Bank of America also disagree with the Nikkei Asia report on iPhone demand.  

Earlier today Bank of America analysts said that iPhone demand is still strong despite a recent report by Nikkei that stated that Apple cut production of its iPhone 13 and new iPhone SE.

The Bank of America analysts stated in a note: "While these articles might lead some investors to think there is risk to demand, we believe demand for iPhones remains strong based on our analysis of iPhone trade-in prices."  

Bank of America further noted that Apple lowered trade-in values for some iPhone models after the launch of the $429 iPhone SE in early March. An iPhone 12 Pro Max, the newest model available for trade-in, is now worth $650 as opposed to $700 before the launch. The analysts argue this shows demand is still strong since Apple doesn’t need to pay as much to convince people to trade in older iPhones for new models.

In another sign of strength for Apple’s new iPhone SE, Bank of America analysts said that a global survey it conducted in January showed 25% of respondents still owned an iPhone 8 or earlier. Old iPhone users are the target audience for the iPhone SE. For more on this story, read the full CNBC report.