Apple did not live up to expectations: why the demand for the iPhone 16 Pro is small

>> iPhone 16 Pro

Pre-orders for the iPhone 16 did not meet Apple's expectations. In the first weekend, the company sold 37 million smartphones, which is 12% less than last year.

The iPhone 16 Pro is selling better than the iPhone 15 Pro, but the basic iPhone 16 is selling better than last year's counterpart . This was written by Ming-Chi Kuo, a user of the Medium service.

Based on his latest supply chain survey and pre-order results on Apple's official websites, he gathered important data on iPhone 16 pre-orders in the first weekend for each model, including pre-order sales, average delivery times and pre-order shipments.

< p class="quote">One ​​of the key factors behind the lower-than-expected demand for the iPhone 16 Pro series is that the main selling point, Apple Intelligence, is not available at the time of the iPhone 16 launch. In addition, the Chinese market continues to have intense competition , – the analyst writes.

Elements of the study:

• First weekend average order sales – determined by each model's delivery time and production plans during that period.
• Average delivery time – determined by results in major iPhone markets 48 hours after pre-orders open on Apple's official websites.< /li>
• Shipment before pre-order – determined by the quantity of products that are produced before pre-order.

iPhone 16 < p>From this data, Ming-Chi Kuo conducted research and determined:

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• Sales of the iPhone 16 line by pre-orders in the first weekend were approximately 37 million units, which is a 12 .7% less than last year's iPhone 15 sales. The main factor is lower-than-expected demand for the iPhone 16 Pro model.
• iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro have shorter delivery times. Despite an increase in pre-order supplies, demand was lower than expected, indicating a decline in opening weekend sales compared to last year.
• Increased productivity of tetraprism cameras and Apple's optimistic forecast for iPhone 16 Pro Max demand explain the significant increase in the number of pre-orders compared to last year.
• One of the main factors behind the lower-than-expected demand for the iPhone 16 Pro series is that the main selling point of Apple Intelligence was not available at the time of the iPhone 16 launch. In addition, strong competition in the Chinese market continues to affect iPhone demand.
• First-weekend sales of the standard version and iPhone 16 Plus were up compared to last year, but their impact on overall iPhone shipments is small.
• Although the pre-orders of the iPhone 16 Pro series in the first weekend of this year were down compared to last year, the production plans of the suppliers are unlikely to change in the coming days. The release of Apple Intelligence and promotions during peak seasons, such as the end-of-year holiday season in America and Europe and Double 11 in China, still allow Apple to increase sales. If demand for the iPhone changes, these aspects will be the most important.
• Strategies like adding a tetraprism camera to the 16 Pro and keeping the iPhone 16 prices down did little to help iPhone 16 pre-order sales in the first weekend. He suggested that Apple's 4Q24 Intelligence releases and peak season promotions have limited impact on iPhone 16 shipments. In this case, Ming-Chi Kuo believes that Apple will introduce more aggressive strategies for iPhone production in 2025 to stimulate market demand. demand.

So far, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have become the best sellers in the debut weekend.

Earlier we talked about the fact that Apple is preparing radical innovations. We also wrote about who will now set trends in the technology world instead of Apple.