Apple launched the iPhone 16 series last week and all four new models went on pre-orders starting this week.
Apple is depending heavily on Artificial Intelligence or AI to sell its new models.
However, it seems like the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max are off to a rather slow start.
Apple launched the iPhone 16 series last week and all four new models — iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max — went on pre-orders starting this week. Apple is depending heavily on Artificial Intelligence or AI to sell its new models. However, it seems like the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max are off to a rather slow start. According to Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, both the premium models have seen lower than expected demand since the pre-orders opened in the US and other countries on Friday.
Kuo said his data is based on a “supply chain survey” and shipping estimates listed on Apple’s online store. As per this data, Apple sold around 37 million units of the iPhone 16 series during the first few days, which is a decline of about 13 per cent in comparison to last year’s iPhone 15 series. One of the major reasons behind this decline is the lack of interest in the Pro models.
Also read: With iPhone 16 series, Apple makes it difficult for you to buy the right iPhone
During the first week, the iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max sales were down by 27% and 16%, respectively, compared to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max sales during the equivalent period last year. Meanwhile, the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models are seeing higher than usual demand. However, it’s not been enough to beat the lower demand for the Pro models.
Kuo says that the low interest is largely because Apple Intelligence will not be available on these devices at the time of launch. Apple had announced its suite of AI features earlier this year during the WWDC 2024. However, most of these capabilities are still work in progress and will only arrive later this year or early next year. Apart from this, the new iPhone models are also facing extreme competition in China from the likes of local brands.
Also read: iPhone 16’s Apple Intelligence lets you create emojis and images on the phone
In India, Apple has surprisingly launched both the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max at lower rates as compared to their predecessors. Both the phones have been updated with the new A18 Bionic chip, Camera Control Button, are equipped with Apple Intelligence and have gotten minor battery upgrades. They will go on sale in India and other countries later this week.
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