hello. This is Technologytodaynow. Pre-orders for the iPhone 16 are finally open in countries around the world. In this article, we’ll take a look at the iPhone 16 pre-order sales trends.
iPhone 16 pre-order sales weaker than expected
iPhone 16 pre-order status in Korea
In South Korea, once again this year, when the pre-order window for the iPhone 16 series opened at 9pm on September 13, the most crowded place to buy was Coupang. This time around, South Korea was one of the first countries to pre-order iPhones, making it possible to purchase very quickly. The most popular model was the iPhone 16 Pro, which sold out of all available units as soon as pre-orders began.
As expected, the next most popular product was the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which was the most expensive model, so I had a little room, and in the case of the iPhone 16 Plus model, which is known to be discontinued after the last time this year, I was able to purchase some supplies even an hour after the pre-booking began.On Coupang, I felt overwhelming competition as it moved on to October delivery in just a few minutes. Also, many people who missed Coupang purchases at Apple’s official home, and although the official home was a little more affordable than Coupang, I was able to see orders pushed back until mid-October. In addition, many people who missed Coupang’s purchase bought it at Apple’s official home, and although the official home was a bit more relaxed than Coupang’s, we eventually saw orders pushed back until mid-October.
iPhone 16 pre-order trends in the US
In the United States, the iPhone 16 Pro Max has been extremely popular. While it was so popular that people waiting to buy it received messages from Apple Stores that there were very few left, the iPhone 16 regular lineup is a much different story. The regular lineup was still available for purchase more than two hours after pre-orders opened, most likely due to the fact that Apple Intelligence is coming out a month later.
The iPhone 16 series is a phone that has been greatly upgraded to use Apple Intelligence, as Tim Cook has said several times at Apple events. However, it seems that the fact that Apple Intelligence is not available right now has had an impact.
iPhone 16 with poor overall pre-order sales
However, overall, pre-order sales for the iPhone 16 series also appear to be underperforming.
According to an analysis by Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, sales for the first weekend of the iPhone 16 series are estimated to be around 37 million units. This is about a 13 percent decrease compared to the previous model. In addition, the iPhone 16 Pro is down 27 percent and the Pro Max is down 16 percent. On the other hand, the iPhone 16 Plus is up 48 percent and the regular model is up 10 percent. Sales for the plus model have increased, but demand for the pro model is downbeat compared to the iPhone 15 due to a significant drop in sales.
Why are pre-order sales sluggish?
The biggest reason is that, as mentioned earlier, Apple Intelligence is not yet available.
In addition, even if Apple Intelligence is released in the fourth quarter of this year, it will be released in beta, and the iPhone will not be equipped with AI until next year. In the United States, the launch of the iPhone 16 series with Apple Intelligence was predicted to cause a super cycle, but the prevailing view is that the super cycle will not occur due to the delay in Apple Intelligence.