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iPhone 16 Pro Demand Has Been Lower Than Expected, Analyst Says

Upgraded my 14PM to the 16PM because of battery life. Capture button looks cool but didn’t influence my purchase. This was also a free carrier upgrade for me or I would’ve kept the 14PM. I’m also anxious to see if the slightly larger screen makes a difference and try out USB-c as I’m the only 1 in my home still using lightening. The Apple presentation was a little underwhelming but as an earlier poster said they can’t give us everything… what will they have left to encourage us to buy next yrs phone. Just my opinion
 
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I upgraded from the iPhone 11 Pro Max to the iPhone 15 Pro Max as Apple finally added enough new features for me to warrant an upgrade.

But why in the hell should i upgrade from my iPhone 15 Pro Max to the iPhone 16 Pro Max?

Also, I already bought a M4 iPad Pro this year as part of my annual "tech budget", so I'm also less inclined to buy something else for 2024.
 
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To be fair, a lot of why I buy one each year is now due to tradition and because I can afford it. Roll back 10 years when each generation would bring genuinely new features at less that half the cost of today’s models, it was a much more compelling prospect of upgrading each year.
 
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Not really that surprising. You can use an 11 Pro Max and still be totally happy with it.

I also don't buy that AI has anything to do with it. You can always find an excuse why you need to spend on a new phone. If it wasn't AI, you can easily pick another feature. The last upgrade that made a huge difference for me was going from a 6 to the Xs.
 
Before the event I was adamant this cycle would be when I would upgrade from my 13 Pro Max.

The thing that sunk it for me was the two-stage shutter being behind a future software update. Just not worth it.

I wouldn't be so down on a 'tock' release if all the functionality was actually available at launch. Where is the Apple that would announce cool stuff and it's available TODAY?
 
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laurienicholas said:
I wouldn't be so down on a 'tock' release if all the functionality was actually available at launch. Where is the Apple that would announce cool stuff and it's available TODAY?
Click to expand...
We are at the point in smartphone tech where it's all been pretty much covered and done. The most exciting thing about Apple's yearly iPhone releases is talk of the new colors.
 
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unobtainium said:
Kind of shocking to me that they went with a bulkier, heavier design for the Pro Max this year. Feels like a downgrade more than an upgrade…don’t think many people were asking for a few extra millimeters of screen space or an even bigger, heavier battery.
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You must be new here / not walk the streets much.... all anyone asks for every year is a bigger and better battery.
 
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I have the 14 Pro and AI, Battery Improvements and Camera Improvements are the only interesting things... AI is not going to work well for at least half a year, specially in Spanish... so the right time to buy a new device will be at the end of next year. 17 Pro will be my choice.
 
Won't even look so far into the future to consider folding phones, but they could at least make a new Pro be compatible with the Pencil.

I guess Cook's afraid that might cannibalise iPad Mini sales though, and that would mean less bonus payouts for all the managers - so they'll never allow it.

Can you imagine Jobs refusing to let the original iPhone have a music app, because that would result in less iPod sales?
 
cptcaveman said:
This video might leave you feeling a lot better about missing out on the 5x zoom:

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Interesting analysis. Thanks for posting this. I guess even Apple can't beat physics 🤷‍♂️. I always assumed that "48 megapixels" is just a silly marketing term. Now I know my hunch was correct.
 
Benny_G said:
I really did consider the 16 pro max, coming from a 13 pro max. But looking at costs to upgrade (even after a trade in) I just can't justify it at the moment for the minuscule upgrades that I won't even use.

I imagine a lot of people are in the same boat.

The UK is in a mess right now (another topic of discussion), so it really doesn't make sense.
Click to expand...
Yet it is sold out for release day everywhere 🤷‍♂️
 
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timborama said:
Who’s “we”?
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Timmy in the comments :oops:

tim-cook.gif
 
We are a family of four and we get a single new Pro Max every year and each phone stays in the family for four years and gets traded in after the 4th year. With this cycle we have:

Me - 16PM
Wife - 15PM
Daughter - getting my 14PM (her current 12PM is being traded in for $300 towards my 16PM)
son - has my wife's older 13PM

Next year my wife will get the 17PM and her 15PM will go to my son and we will trade in his 13PM...so on and so forth....

It is an upgrade system that works for us and we will just continue doing this until the kids are out on their own.

So the features for each phone don't really matter to us.
 
What exactly were they expecting?
Same phone, just slightly better.
If you're rocking an iPhone 12 or older, you might be tempted. Otherwise it makes near zero sense to upgrade.
 
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It’s funny people call this a flop upgrade… must be a yearly phone swap people.

This is a big upgrade for me; coming from 12 mini.

My historical iPhone.
iPhone 4
iPhone 7
iPhone 12
iPhone 16

I upgrade every 4-5 years; I’m the targeted customer. Battery is the first major factor, and I’m not sold by the AI.
 
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The real story is that the base 16 is finally a good phone. Here’s hoping the base 17 finally gets a refresh rate bump.
 
MacRumors said:


Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said demand for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max has been "lower than expected" since the devices became available to pre-order in the U.S. and dozens of other countries on Friday. Kuo said his data is based on a "supply chain survey" and shipping estimates listed on Apple's online store.

16-pro.jpg

Kuo estimated that sales of all four iPhone 16 models reached about 37 million units in the first weekend after Apple began accepting pre-orders, which is down nearly 13% compared to first-weekend sales of the iPhone 15 series last year. The analyst said a key factor for the decline is the lower demand for the Pro models, with first-weekend sales of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max estimated to be down 27% and 16%, respectively, compared to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max sales during the equivalent period last year.

The standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have seen higher demand than the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus during the first weekend of sales, but this has not been enough to offset the lower demand for the Pro models, according to Kuo.

Kuo said a major reason for the iPhone 16 Pro models having lower-than-expected demand is that Apple Intelligence will not be available on the devices when they launch on Friday. Instead, the first Apple Intelligence features are rolling out with iOS 18.1 in October. In addition, the analyst said the iPhone is facing "intense competition" in China.

Article Link: iPhone 16 Pro Demand Has Been Lower Than Expected, Analyst
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MacRumors said:


Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said demand for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max has been "lower than expected" since the devices became available to pre-order in the U.S. and dozens of other countries on Friday. Kuo said his data is based on a "supply chain survey" and shipping estimates listed on Apple's online store.

16-pro.jpg

Kuo estimated that sales of all four iPhone 16 models reached about 37 million units in the first weekend after Apple began accepting pre-orders, which is down nearly 13% compared to first-weekend sales of the iPhone 15 series last year. The analyst said a key factor for the decline is the lower demand for the Pro models, with first-weekend sales of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max estimated to be down 27% and 16%, respectively, compared to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max sales during the equivalent period last year.

The standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have seen higher demand than the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus during the first weekend of sales, but this has not been enough to offset the lower demand for the Pro models, according to Kuo.

Kuo said a major reason for the iPhone 16 Pro models having lower-than-expected demand is that Apple Intelligence will not be available on the devices when they launch on Friday. Instead, the first Apple Intelligence features are rolling out with iOS 18.1 in October. In addition, the analyst said the iPhone is facing "intense competition" in China.

Article Link: iPhone 16 Pro Demand Has Been Lower Than Expected, Analyst Says
Click to expand...

There is little value proposition between iterations for the masses. Also, dribbling out features months after release is getting old. The yearly cycle is too frequent at this point. 95% of people aren’t going to do anything with the new phone they can’t do with their current phone. No ones life is going to change because of the AI gimmicks.
 
TheMaverick001 said:
Massive tech enthusiast with a disposable income begging to be spent on a shiny new iPhone... and I’m also still keeping my 14 Pro. Apple at least used to hide the fact that they were dripfeeding a little better. I mean, every company does it, you can’t just release the greatest ultimate phone ever because you’ll cannibalize all future sales. But still, these hardware changes are a joke. They too obviously started to withhold features far after they’re ready, like RAM or the 48MP telephoto.
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Seriously... technology development isn't at the fast pace as back then anymore. Same for software... some "features" these days are basically old ones with a new label on it or slightly changed. In fact, basically every iPhone in the last say 5 years are able to do all the things people usually do with a mobile device. The only barrier that still exists today are the horrible mobile networks in some areas.

The only "wow" feature everyone is milking now is the "AI" thingy. The endorphins probably won't last long too.
 
Good than I should have no trouble getting my preorder color and storage in a timely fashion 👍
 
MilaM said:
Interesting analysis. Thanks for posting this. I guess even Apple can't beat physics 🤷‍♂️. I always assumed that "48 megapixels" is just a silly marketing term. Now I know my hunch was correct.
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In all fairness - the combined cost of the equipment used in this video (check the prices of the lenses used) is rather large for the average picture-taker, and so is the bulk you’ll be carrying around. While I’m pretty sure that taking camera equipment (camera + lens) for the same amount as a 16Pro would still give better results than the phone (bigger sensor and all), it would be a fairer comparison. It would also have been interesting to see both old and new phone at 5x (vs the current 4.9)…
 
I'd consider an iPhone 16 Pro for use as a camera (not as a phone/smart-device) if it had the same 48MP sensor for all three cameras, 12MP telephoto?! Oofah, Apple. Maybe next model? :)
 
I'm skipping this years iPhone 16's. Was planning to trade in my 15PM for a 16 Pro, but decided to wait another year and just update to iOS 18. I skipped the 14's series, which turned out to be a good decision.
 
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