There is no iPhone 16 ‘supercycle’, according to famed Apple-related rumor mill Ming-Chi Kuo. The analyst shared his data compiled from a supply chain investigation and pre-order results from Apple’s official websites.
And the numbers paint a bleak picture for Apple. Pre-orders for the iPhone 16 series in the first weekend are estimated at around 37 million units, down 12.7% year-over-year compared to the iPhone 15 family‘s first weekend sale. And this is regardless of the fact that the first weekend sale for the iPhone 16 And iPhone 16 Plus increased compared to last year.
Ask for the iPhone 16 Pro And ProMax is lower than expected, despite Apple being very bullish on the Pro Max’s prospects and growing shipments before pre-orders began (compared to the 15 ProMax).
Kuo suspects that the disappointing performance of the Pro models has to do with the fact that the Apple Intelligence features are not launching this Friday, on September 20and will be instead delivered in batchesstarting in October and continuing into next year. It is also said that there is intense competition in the Chinese market, which is affecting the demand for iPhones there.
All that said, Kuo doesn’t expect any production cuts, at least not yet, and says that sales of the Pro models will improve once Apple Intelligence comes out. The holiday shopping season could also help.