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

[CloneBB]

I can’t wait for iOS 18 on my new 16 pro max!!!

 

[cyb3rdud3]

I personally think the economic situation is also hurting iPhone 16 Pro sales, too. And that's WITH carrier incentives.

I haven’t seen carrier incentives in over a decade. And it’s really not that bad, it’s sold out so plenty of people with money I’d say.

 

[Rogue AI]

It’s the same iPhone we’ve been buying since iPhone 12, just slightly upgraded internals. it’s not a surprise upgrade demand isn’t there.

 

[Rogue AI]

At this point, I'm keeping my iPhone 14 Pro out of spite.

I should’ve done the same thing.

 

[I7guy]

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.

Seems like the first sentence is a contradiction. If I were a massive tech enthusiast with a disposable income begging to be spent in a new shiny iPhone - I would make that happen.

 

[QuarterSwede]

It’s the same iPhone we’ve been buying since iPhone 12, just slightly upgraded internals. it’s not a surprise upgrade demand isn’t there.

Eh, I’d argue that’s not true:

USB-C (this is the big one for most)
Dynamic Island
Titanium (lighter weight)
Larger Screens
48MP cameras
120Hz Promotion display
Hardware ray tracing
Camera Control
Action button
8GB RAM

None of that is on the 12 Pro line.

 

[Haiku_Oezu]

Kuo and Gurman trying to save their own skin when they were both hyping the iPhone 16 as the greatest creation ever. I think the iPhone 16 is a nice phone if you don’t already have one or if you’re upgrading from a really old iPhone, but there’s just not enough there to upgrade if you have a 14 or 15

I’m not updating my 15 PM myself, now that I have USB-C I’m happy and probably won’t update unless they really wow me or when this thing stops performing decently

 

[Gix1k]

After much consideration, I'm returning my 16PM. There's literally no reason to get rid of my 15PM.

Yeah yeah....i know you don't care.

 

[M5RahuL]

At this point, I'm keeping my iPhone 14 Pro out of spite.

Tim to iOS Dev Team " Time to re-prioritize Plan B on future software feature enhancements on pre-16 devices "

 

[aero7]

Make it lighter, thinner - particularly lose the hideous camera bump already! - and then shut up and take my money.

 

[Velroy]

Localizing isn't the issue. Apple's childishness is. There's nothing to localize about a feature like "Clean up" to remove objects from photos. It's also done locally, so it can't be a server scaling issue either. Apple just tries to set a warning example for other governments like Japan and US to not regulate anything. They want to trick consumers into thinking that regulations are bad for consumers because they hinder innovation. Whereas what the EU is doing is the opposite, they try to allow innovation. But Apple is acting childish and not following laws instead only complaining. So, they're hindering their own innovation. I hope this "strategy" ends very soon!

I can see this being a big part of it too, but that doesn't explain why they don't launch in countries with next to no tech regulation. Why is it not coming out in UAE, Nigeria, Costa Rica or Papua New Guinea?

 

[iCamera]

Meh, I will keep my 14 Pro. This upgrade and the one last year has been disgraceful

 

[RealMonster]

It's a phone, not a cinder block. When weight is measured in grams, it isn't heavy.

For reference, a teaspoon of water is 5g. The weight increase from last year is a couple of teaspoons of water. The people complaining about the weight need to go measure out a few teaspoons of water and really assess whether or not it's a meaningful change.

The CPU is literally the same.
The naming of the SoC is intentionally misleading. They call it “A18 Pro” but it only has 1 GPU core more than the A18. The name, I think, was one too Al to drive up sales for the Pro models by unsuspecting customers. But that doesn’t seem to be enough.

It is literally NOT the same. I will die on this hill.
There's 1 extra GPU core, more cache, different encoders, USB-3 support, and reprogrammable ML accelerators. Will you notice? Only you can say, but it is not the same SoC so stop saying it is.

There are meaningful differences in the silicon, and it is almost certainly not the case that the A18 is a binned version of the A18 pro.

 

[LlamaLarry]

None of that is on the 12 Pro line.

Indeed, I picked up a 16PM for my wife to replace her 12PM thanks to AT&T's $1000 credit. There are quite a few differences:

https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone-16-pro-max,iphone-12-pro-max,iphone-12

Now, I didn't replace my 12PM because I don't take many photos (unlike my wife), play games, or need AI. Hopefully I can last to the 17PM next year and not let FOMO get me.

 

[SactoGuy18]

I haven’t seen carrier incentives in over a decade. And it’s really not that bad, it’s sold out so plenty of people with money I’d say.

People on certain cellphone plans are getting new iPhone 16 models at big discounts if they trade in their phones. I'm getting a $300 trade in rebate on my iPhone 12 even with a lesser T-Mobile US unlimited plan.

 

[pdaholic]

Are people really considering getting new phone every year? Why?

If you have the money and the upgrade is worthwhile, then why not? I went from the X to the 15, so I’m definitely not a yearly upgrader.

 

[kousha]

I'm getting so tired of these companies' audacity, thinking they can release an incomplete product and market a potential future as a selling point.

 

[cyb3rdud3]

People on certain cellphone plans are getting new iPhone 16 models at big discounts if they trade in their phones. I'm getting a $300 trade in rebate on my iPhone 12 even with a lesser T-Mobile US unlimited plan.

And what do you pay for the plan, what are the details of the plan, and what do you pay for the new phone and which phone is it?

 

[michsu]

And what do you pay for the plan, what are the details of the plan, and what do you pay for the new phone and which phone is it?

They make you go to the most recent plan, therefore your "trade in" is cut in half over 3 years time because of the plan price increase.

 

[mozumder]

anyone know when reviews are hitting? Looking at camera upgrades for my 13 Pro Max.

 

[mozumder]

You must be too young to remember Nokia.

Please don't confuse anything from Nokia with a modern smartphone.

Apple invented the modern smartphone.

There are two phases of the smartphone: before iPhone, and after. Everything after the iPhone is the modern smartphone, which Apple invented. Everything before can't be classified as modern.

 

[mozumder]

And a month or two from now, we will hear about record iPhone sales. I'm convinced this is some Wall Street Bro's way to make money each and every year!!!

There won't be record iPhone sales. The first weekend sales already show that trend. The second week or the next months sale isn't going to reverse that trend.

You have enough information from the first weekend to make a conclusion about sales forecast.

 

[mozumder]

Make it lighter, thinner - particularly lose the hideous camera bump already! - and then shut up and take my money.

How do you plan on making the camera bump thinner without it making the picture quality garbage?

The reason your camera quality got better is because the camera size got bigger.

 

[ab2c4]

I’ll become interested in getting a new iPhone when rounded sides come back. I hate the current flat sides.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I’ll become interested in getting a new iPhone when rounded sides come back. I hate the current flat sides.

I miss the dangerous nature of feeling like I’m holding a bar of soap too.