According to pre-order analysis from tech industry trends analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, Apple is facing less demand for iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max than expected.
The base models iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have had more pre-sales compared to last year’s numbers, though.
Analysis was done based on ship times on Apple’s website, as well as a “supply chain survey.”, and looking at the the first weekend of pre-orders.
Kuo, who is an analyst at TF International Securities, found the following:
– iPhone 16 Pro Max is down 16% compared to last year
– iPhone 16 Pro is down 27% compared to last year
– iPhone 16 Plus is up 48% compared to last year
– iPhone 16 is up 10% compared to last year
Overall, the first weekend pre-order sales for the iPhone 16 series are estimated at around 37 million units, which is down about 12.7% from the iPhone 15 series on the first weekend last year.
Despite massive growth with the iPhone 16 Plus, the decline in iPhone 16 Pro demand is far outweighing it.
People’s increased interest in the regular iPhones this year, over the Pro models can possibly be attributed to the fact that most of the new exciting camera features were made for all the models across the iPhone 16 lineup, and not just the Pro’s.
All of the iPhone 16 models have the new and most anticipated Camera Control button that’s designed to make it easier to quickly capture pictures and videos.
The new Photographic Styles upgrade, and Audio Mix feature which provides three different creative ways to adjust the way that voices sound in videos, are also available on the entire iPhone 16 series.
According to Kuo, of the key factors for the lower-than-expected demand for the iPhone 16 Pro series is that the major selling point, Apple Intelligence, will not be not made available at launch alongside the iPhone 16 release, but will only come at a later stage.
Additionally, intense competition in the Chinese market continues to impact iPhone demand.
IOL