The iPhone 11 may prove more popular than its Pro or Pro Max siblings already

The iPhone XR represented the first time Apple had diversified its flagship mobile device series with a more  'budget' variant. As it turned out, multiple reports and analyses suggested that it may have in fact done better than its more expensive counterparts, the XS and XS Max, since its 2018 release. Now, there is some evidence that history may be replicating itself. A new report in the Nikkei Asian Review asserts that Apple has ordered more units of the XR's successor from its suppliers.

The Review asserts that the Cupertino company has increased requests for this device, as well as for the 11 Pro to some degree, by up to 10%. This translates to as much as 8 million more units of these phones, which start at US$699. The $1099 Pro Max, on the other hand, has had its own orders slightly downsized. (Apple iPhone X on sale now at Amazon)

Nevertheless, supplier sources insist that these new iPhone orders exceed to their expectations based on the previous year. Apple's CEO, Tim Cook, has also stated that 2019 iPhone sales have got off to a "great start". They have also helped the company's share price to rise by 40%.

However, those who actually make these phones are currently managing their optimism over this latest spike in orders, just in case it ultimately fails to improve overall order volumes compared to those of 2018. In addition, Mizuho Securities' head of tech research, Yasuo Nakane, has put his latest estimates of iPhone shipments at 194 million this year - or 14 million less than last year.