Apple receives 37 million pre-orders for iPhone 16 series: (Image: Apple)

Apple’s highly anticipated iPhone 16 series was launched last week at the “Glowtime” event in California, featuring four models: iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Plus, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max. While pre-orders were expected to break records due to the new Apple Intelligence features, the results that came out were a bit sceptic and unexpected.

According to Apple analyst Ming Chi-Kuo, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models have seen lower demand, with pre-orders down 27% and 16% respectively compared to last year. This decline seems surprising that the excitement surrounding the new series that anticipated more sales for the Pro models. However, the base models iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus witnessed significant growth with pre-orders up 10% and 48% (Approx. 37 million orders) respectively.

Despite this, the overall iPhone 16 series shipments have declined by 12.7% to approximately 37 million customers compared to last year. The higher yields on the tetraprism camera have helped Apple ship more iPhone 16 Pro Max units than iPhone 15 Pro Max units. It was said that the iPhone 16 base model has more value and demand than the expensive Pro models even if the flagship models are equipped with Apple Intelligence.

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Kuo also suggests that Apple may adopt more aggressive strategies in 2025 to boost market demand and pre-order figures. The company is likely to monitor the performance of the iPhone 16 series closely as it sets the stage for future iPhone releases. The mixed results may indicate a shift in consumer preferences with more users opting for the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus models over the premium Pro and Pro Max variants.

Apple also unveiled its iOS 18 on Tuesday and announced that the Apple Intelligence is set to arrive in the U.S. version of the English language in beta next month for the iPhone 16 series and later this year for other models. The shares of Apple fell nearly 3% on Monday due to the weaker demand for iPhone Pro models on account of the delay in its AI features.

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