iPhone 16 Series Sales Match Apple’s Expectations, Low Demand for Base Models: Kuo

iPhone 16 series was launched by Apple at a special event held in September at Apple Park in California. The latest smartphone lineup from the Cupertino-based tech giant boasts features like a powerful A18 family of chipsets, improved design, an Action button on all models, and a new dedicated Camera Control button. Courtesy of these factors, the sales of the iPhone 16 models are said to have been meeting Apple’s expectations.

iPhone 16 Sales

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo provided updates regarding the sales of the iPhone 16 series. It is suggested that demand for the smartphone series, especially the iPhone 16 Pro models, has met Apple’s expectations so far and its assembly orders remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, demand for the iPhone 16 Pro is claimed to match that of the iPhone 15 Pro from last year. It also benefits from shorter shipping times than its predecessor, which was widely reported to be in short supply in the initial weeks of its sale.

However, that is not the case for the base models. As per Kuo, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus sales “remains lackluster”. Thus, Apple has reduced the component orders for mid-November onwards by a 3-5 percent margin, especially for the aforementioned models.

The analyst suggests Apple’s next focus will be on meeting the demand in the US when Apple Intelligence — its suite of artificial intelligence (AI) features for iPhone and other devices — is rolled out. The AI features are expected to arrive with the iOS 18.1 update later this month and speculation suggests October 28 as the most likely date of its release.

According to Kuo, the iPhone 16 production may remain at 88-89 million units in the fourth quarter of 2024, similar to previously predicted numbers. If this turns out to be true, it would be slightly lower than the iPhone 15 series’ production numbers which were reported to be about 90-91 million units.