On September 9, 2024, Apple held an event at the Steve Jobs Theater on its campus in Cupertino, California, USA. An attendee held two iPhone 16s.
Manuel Orbergozo | Reuters
apple Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst at TF Securities, said there were reports that demand for the new iPhone 16 was lower than expected and that first-weekend sales of iPhone 15 were down 12% year-on-year, causing the stock price to fall 3.6% in early trading on Monday. wrote in the note.
“The key factor is that demand for the iPhone 16 Pro series is lower than expected.” Kuo Ming-Chi wrote on Apple’s website after compiling data on pre-order sales, average delivery time and pre-order shipments of various iPhone 16 models.
Kuo added that one of the “key factors” for the drop in demand is that “the main selling point, Apple Intelligence, was not released with iPhone 16. In addition, fierce competition in the Chinese market continues to affect iPhone demand.”
Last Monday, Apple launched new versions of iPhone, AirPods and Apple Watch at an event held at its headquarters in Cupertino, California. Pre-orders for the new iPhones opened on Friday and are set to launch on September 20, but the first Apple Intelligence features for the iPhone 16 won’t be available in beta form until next month.
Analysts from Barclays, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America also wrote in an investor note that shipping times could result in lower demand for the latest iPhone Pro models compared with last year.
“Based on our conversations with dealers and analysis of bookings on major Chinese e-commerce sites, total bookings in the first few days were down year-on-year, with a smaller mix of professional models,” Barclays analysts wrote in a note. “We’re hearing that sales of professional models are down by double digits year-over-year, while sales of base and enhanced models are up year-over-year.”
The Barclays analysts added that the Chinese version of Apple Intelligence “won’t launch until 2025, which may dampen early enthusiasm for IP16. Weak macroeconomics and competition continue to impact iPhone sales in China.” They also wrote According to the report, Apple has to rely on deep discounts to help iPhone 15 sales in China.
Tracking lead times in key markets as an indicator of demand, JPMorgan analysts wrote, “Early lead times suggest demand for iPhone 16 base models in the first week (e.g., pre-order week) is consistent with the iPhone 15 series), while Pro models Early demand indicators for iPhone 15 models are starting to soften relative to the iPhone 15 series.
Bank of America analysts wrote that after tracking iPhone shipping dates on Apple’s own website and various carrier websites, “shipping times for iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models have lengthened, but compared with this time last year (on average) ) has been shortened.” – Order cycle. “
They added that “while the extension of the ship date may reflect iPhone demand, other factors such as supply, inventory, distribution and pricing may affect the ship date.” The analysts also wrote that Apple lowered its sales in Australia and India. iPhone 16 price.
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max are Apple’s higher-end phones, with better screens and lenses than regular models, and start at $999 and $1,199 respectively.
Apple said at last week’s event that the Pro models have “the thinnest bezels of any Apple product” and called them “our best iPhone displays yet.” Titanium is almost half the weight of stainless steel and is “more scratch-resistant than other forms of titanium that others use.”
The company also said during the event that the new iPhone 16 Pro Max has the “best iPhone battery life ever,” but did not provide further details.
—CNBC’s Michael Bloom contributed reporting.
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