iPhone 16 series pre-orders began on September 13 but the demand for most models globally has been high, according to a market analyst. Apple’s top performer is said to be the iPhone 16 Plus which has seen the highest growth in pre-orders compared to the previous generation. On the other hand, iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max models are seeing lower demand despite shorter delivery times and up to 100 percent more units ready for shipment.
iPhone 16 Series Pre-Order Demand
In a blog post, TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo revealed both iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have seen more year-on-year (YoY) demand compared to their previous counterparts. The standard model is said to have 10 percent more first weekend pre-orders, while the Plus variant’s demand is a staggering 48 percent more, despite higher average delivery time compared to iPhone 15 Plus.
The total first weekend pre-order sales of the iPhone 16 series are estimated to be approximately 37 million units – a decrease of about 12.7 percent compared to last year. One of the major contributing factors is said to be a falling demand for the iPhone 16 Pro models. The pre-order volumes for the iPhone 16 series are attributed to the introduction of the new tetraprism lens on the iPhone 16 Pro, as well as a stable pricing strategy as last year.
According to Kuo, the lack of Apple Intelligence features (the company’s artificial intelligence suite) at launch may be one of the reasons behind the low pre-order numbers. Features such as writing tools, a smarter Siri, Clean Up tool, and Image Playground were previewed by the Cupertino-based tech giant at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 2024 in June. Although a handful of them are slated to make their debut with the iOS 18.1 update next month, some have been delayed till next year.
However, the analyst further suggested that there is still hope for Apple to increase its iPhone 16 sales following the release of Apple Intelligence as well as during the holiday season. The tech giant is tipped to implement aggressive strategies to revive the market demand of its flagship new iPhone models.