William Gallagher
New figures say that in China, the iPhone 16 range sold a fifth more in its first three weeks than the iPhone 15 did in 2023.
Overall, iPhone 16 sales have reportedly been lackluster, but Counterpoint Research claims that so far, the whole range has done better in China than its predecessor. That's despite the iPhone 15 range having exceeded sales expectations at launch in 2023.
As first spotted by Reuters, the rise came despite local rival Huawei launching new smartphones at the same time.
While the overall sales for the iPhone 16 were up 20% year over year, there was a similar split to the US where the Pro models performed better. Combined, the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max saw a sales rise of 44% over their 2023 predecessors.
However, in total Apple saw a drop of 2% year over year on all iPhone sales in China. That's partly because of competition from Huawei, but also because sales of older iPhones decreased.
The latter is most probably due to how Apple Intelligence requires newer models. Specifically, it needs the iPhone 15 Pro or iPhone 15 Pro Max, or the iPhone 16 range.
Previously, analysts including JP Morgan have predicted that Apple's sales in China will improve, after many quarters of decline. However, the strong start for the iPhone 15 range dropped significantly in China after a few months.
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4 Comments
"As first spotted by Reuters, the rise came despite local rival Huawei launching new smartphones at the same time."
This actually factually correct but lacks important context which Reuters apparently missed.
The phone that launched on 20th September was the Mate XT for which Apple has no rival and with a price of almost $3,000 it is a low volume device.
It may shave some sales off Apple though.
The real and direct rival to the iPhone 16 line is the Mate 70 series which may launch this or next month so it is very likely that more intense competition for Apple is due for the Christmas/Chinese New Year period.
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Apple Intelligence will drive the megacycle Dan Ives and Erik Woodring keep pounding the table about. This AI cycle will dwarf the 5G Supercycle
Sounds like the previous 10 years….. wash, rinse and repeat.