While Apple released its new iPhone 16 line earlier this month, it may be receiving a disappointing reception for its flagship smartphones from customers.
The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus sold roughly 37 million units in their first weekend, according to a Morgan Stanley report cited by Appleinsider.
Those numbers appear to show demand that is clearly lower than it was for Apple when it released the iPhone 15.
This metric is measured in terms of lead times — how long it takes for your order to arrive once you finish paying for it online.
Lead times are much shorter this year compared to last year, possibly indicating lower demand.
Specifically, the times are as follows:
• 25.5 days for the iPhone 16 Pro Max, compared to 43.5 days last year.
• 18.5 days for the iPhone 16 Pro, compared to 32.5 days last year.
• 9 days for the iPhone 16, compared to 14 days last year.
• 7.9 days for the iPhone 16 Plus, compared to 13.9 days last year.
According to the Morgan Stanley report, the iPhone 16 has the shortest lead time of any iPhone released in the last five years, roughly on par with that of the iPhone 12.
The lead times though might not always tell the full story. The lead time is based on Apple’s iPhone stock, and the company never releases that information. Shorter lead times might indicate that Apple produced enough iPhones to meet the demand, anticipating a greater demand for them.
Initial sales might be lower, but it’s too early in the iPhone 16’s lifespan to predict how well it will perform overall.
Apple smartphones account for nearly half of the company’s revenue and therefore any impact to the sales of that segment have immediate consequences for the Cupertino-based company.
“One of the key factors for the lower-than-expected demand for the iPhone 16 Pro series is that the major selling point, Apple Intelligence, is not available at launch alongside the iPhone 16 release,” said TF International Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo wrote in a report earlier this month.
Here in Australia, Apple Intelligence will only be available in December, which might mean customers will not be rushing to upgrade their devices to the iPhone 16 series immediately as they’ll only be able to extract its AI features towards the end of this year.
