In an note to clients — as noted by MacRumors — analyst Ming-Chi Kuo says that, contrary to previous reports, Apple hasn’t increased iPhone 16 orders. He cites recent earnings reports from Apple suppliers TSMC and Largan as evidence.
“The launch of Apple Intelligence is generally considered to be the reason for the increase in iPhone 16 orders,” Kuo says. “However, Apple Intelligence will only be 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), the expectation that consumers will buy the new iPhone 16 for the Beta version of Apple Intelligence in 2H24 may be too optimistic.”
Kuo’s opinion goes against at least one previous report. Apple plans purportedly plans to ship at least 90 million iPhone 16 devices in the latter half of this year, counting on AI services to fuel demand for its new lineup, reports Bloomberg.
The article — quoting an unnamed “person familiar with the matter” — says the tech giant told suppliers and partners that it’s targeting about 10% growth in shipments of new iPhones compared with their predecessors. Apple shipped approximately 81 million iPhone 15s in the second half of 2023.
The tech giant is apparently counting on Apple Intelligence spurring heavy sales starting in the last half of the year.
Apple Intelligence will be deeply integrated into macOS Sequoia, iOS 18, and iPadOS 18. It harnesses the power of Apple silicon to understand and create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks. Here are all the features of Apple Intelligence as listed by Apple in a press release.
