Analyst suggests Apple may not meet high sales expectations for iPhone 16 due to potential limitations of Apple Intelligence feature.
The release of the iPhone 16 is approaching, with many details about the new Apple device already leaked. One of the key features of the iPhone 16 is expected to be the integration of Apple Intelligence, a feature unveiled at WWDC 2024 as part of iOS 18. While Bloomberg anticipates a significant increase in demand and profits for Apple due to the combination of the iPhone 16 and Apple Intelligence, renowned Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has a different perspective.
What the supplier data indicates
Citing recent earnings reports from Apple suppliers Largan and TSMC as evidence, Kuo suggests that Apple has not increased iPhone 16 production despite reports suggesting a massive increase.
As noted in Macrumors’ report, Apple supplier TSMC didn’t see a jump in unit growth, while Largan reported flat-top orders for 2024 were pretty much the same as last year. Apple analyst Kyo believes that iPhone 16 orders in the second half of 2024 will be around 87 million, which is four million less than Apple’s order for iPhone 15 units last year. Kuo suggests that increased orders for certain suppliers may be related to “specific reasons within individual industries or components.”
Why Apple Intelligence Can’t Make Big iPhone 16 Sales
Kuo believes that it may be too optimistic to believe that Apple Intelligence will increase iPhone 16 sales, since the feature is only available in US English. “The release of Apple Intelligence is widely cited as the reason behind the surge in iPhone 16 orders. However, Apple Intelligence is only available in beta for US users in 2H24, and Apple Intelligence Siri only supports English. Regardless of whether Apple Intelligence alone can drive replacement demand (which is another big topic) , expectations that consumers will buy the new iPhone 16 for Apple Intelligence beta during 2024 may be too optimistic, Kuo said in a blog post.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg said that Apple plans to ship more than 90 million units of the iPhone 16 series in 2024.
