Apple iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus and iPhone 16 Pro, iPhone 16 Pro Max has hit stores, but sales data of the initial few days seems to show much less enthusiasm in the series than in previous years. To give a clear picture, well-known analyst Ming-Chi Kuo reports that demand for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max has “been lower than expected since the pre-orders in important markets, such as the US and other countries started.”
iPhone 16 pre-order sales
The supply chain survey by Kuo, an analyst, and Apple’s shipping estimated that the first weekend sales for 37 million iPhone 16 units. This number is still huge but marks an attrition of 13% over last year’s first-weekend sales of iPhone 15 series.
In the end, sales of iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max were a bit softer, at about 27 percent and 16 percent respectively compared to last year’s iPhone 15 Pro. On the other hand, the more popular iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models received more significant demand and even outsold the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus from last year.
Shifts in consumer demand: Standard vs. Pro models
Interestingly, the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus had shown stronger performance, outperforming their predecessors at the beginning of sales. Although demand for these non-Pro models is higher, it hasn’t been enough to balance out the overall decline encouraged by the weaker performance of Pro models.
This shift in consumer preference might mean that the more price-sensitive Apple customer is getting better value out of the base models, while the premium-willing customer who usually wants to pony up for the Pro models may be waiting on a lot of factors.
Why the iPhone 16 Pro models are falling short
Several reasons account for the fact that demand for new iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max proved to be weaker than anticipated. According to Kuo, one fundamental problem is that highly anticipated Apple Intelligence will be delayed and not included with the new series of iPhones. Instead, it will arrive when iOS18.1 rolls out in October.
This may be killing the consumer interest because many of the early adapters might have used this technology immediately after they got it. The feature has been postponed, so some customers may have to wait until it becomes available.
According to Kuo, competition heavily hangs on iPhone, especially in China (via MacRumors). As the local brands of smartphones are becoming more dominant and offering attractive features at cheaper rates, the undisputed leader in this field has really been pressed in one of its most dominant markets.
Competition in China: A growing threat
The market conditions of the smartphone retail market in China are pretty competitive, and one major drawback for Apple may be premium price, as other local brands such as Xiaomi, Huawei, and OPPO provide devices featuring high-quality functionality at lower prices as compared to the flagship iPhone.
As a result, Apple is losing a significant portion of its China market because price-sensitive consumers are choosing cheaper alternatives that offer similar performance. At this point in time, Apple may have to reassess its strategy regarding the Chinese market, perhaps including region-specific features or budget-friendly models.
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What’s next for Apple?
The sales of the iPhone 16 series is just beginning to enter the markets, and that’s a great opportunity for Apple to shape the slowing down of Pro model sales. Also, if Apple Intelligence does indeed come out a little later this year, then it’s fair to assume the sales will boom, at least once this is on iOS 18.1.
However, Apple will face competition from the increasing number of players in its most critical markets, such as China, and has to invent new ways to attract high-price customers.
While the start is a little slow, Apple still leads in smartphone sales around the world. Still, the issue remains whether the iPhone 16 series managed to recover from its initial slump and went well up to the high expectation level of previous versions.