The summer is always a quiet season for new Apple products, but the company is hard at work preparing for a big fall of hardware releases.
According to a new report, Apple is planning to ship a massive 90 million or more iPhone 16 models in 2024 alone.
Debby Wu, Takashi Mochizuki, and Yuan Gao write for Bloomberg:
Apple Inc. aims 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 after a rocky 2023.
The company told suppliers and partners that it’s targeting about 10% growth in shipments of new iPhones compared with their predecessors, a person familiar with the matter said, after shipping about 81 million iPhone 15s in the second half of 2023.
It is unsurprising that Apple may be banking on its Apple Intelligence features to drive iPhone upgrades, because the list of compatible AI devices is extremely short on iPhones.
If you bought last year’s iPhone 15, which is still technically the flagship iPhone model, your device will only gain Apple Intelligence if it’s of the Pro or Pro Max variety. By contrast, all iPhone 16 models are expected to include full support for Apple Intelligence.
Another factor Bloomberg points to as a way to account for this year’s significant increase is China. The piece notes:
The iPhone also suffered a slow start to 2024 in China, according to government data and independent research from market trackers such as Counterpoint Research. But demand for Apple’s iconic handsets began to rebound strongly since April, in part because of a flurry of discounts, particularly in the run-up to the important “618” or June 18 nationwide shopping event.
It’s likely that the 90 million or more iPhone 16 devices being prepped are due to a mix of factors, including Apple Intelligence, improved China sales, and perhaps expectations that the other new features of the 16 lineup will prove compelling.
Do you plan to upgrade to an iPhone 16? Let us know in the comments.
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