Ming-Chi Kuo, a well Known Apple analyst, has revealed that the demand for the recently launched iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max has been “lower than expected” since the smartphones were available on pre-order in the US and many other countries. According to Kuo, this data comes from a “supply chain survey” and the shipping estimated that are listed on the online store of Apple.
As per Kuo’s estimates, Apple sold 37 million units of all the four iPhone 16 devices in the first weekend after the tech giant started accepting pre-orders. If you compare with the iPhone 15 sales during the first weekend last year, this is around 13% low.
Kuo said the lower demand for the Pro models is one of the key factors for this decline. The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max sales in the first weekend is estimated to be down 27% and 16%, respectively, compare to the sales figures of their predecessors during the equivalent period in 2023.
On the other hand, the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have witnessed higher demand during first weekend of sales as compared to iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus.
Why iPhone 16 Pro’s Demand is Lower?
According to Kuo, a key reason for the “lower than expected” demand for the Pro models is that Apple Intelligence will not be available on the devices. The first features of the Apple Intelligence will be released in October with iOS 18.1 instead. Additionally, the iPhone has “intense competition” in China, he said.
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