The iPhone 16 lineup will be a part of Apple’s announcements during the ‘It’s Glowtime’ event that is scheduled to be held on September 9. Thanks to a multitude of upgrades expected to arrive with the newer models, including support for Apple Intelligence, the technology giant likely believes that these will be the catalyst for increased demand, which is why a new report estimates that the iPhone 16 supply has increased by 10 percent compared to the iPhone 15 series from last year.
One analyst believes that Apple Intelligence features are promising, but 2025 could be a significant year for the company
A report from Nikkei Asia mentions that Apple has ordered its suppliers to increase the iPhone 16 supply to between 88 million and 90 million units. This is not the first time that the Cupertino firm has been reported to be eyeing a 90-million shipment target for 2024, as Bloomberg previously made this estimate. China will likely account for the majority of this initial shipment, but the report mentions that the region will be more challenging for Apple to dominate thanks to Huawei’s resurgence.
Furthermore, Jeff Pu, managing director of Haitong Securities, also implies that Apple Intelligence will not be a huge selling point for any of these iPhone 16 models. Instead, he believes that 2025 will bring more opportunities for Apple as it can expand on its generative AI features. However, various analyses earlier concluded that Samsung’s Galaxy AI was paramount in customers upgrading to the Galaxy S25 models in droves, so we will continue to wait and see how true this prediction is.
“We anticipate a relatively modest recovery this year. Apple Intelligence features, while promising, may not deliver groundbreaking advancements in 2024. We believe that 2025 could be a more significant year as the broader AI ecosystem matures.”
As for what customers have highlighted as the primary reason to upgrade to any iPhone 16, Apple Intelligence was not at the top of their list, with a survey revealing that a competitive price and a capable cooling solution were their main preferences. However, remember that just like the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, all iPhone 16 models are rumored to ship with 8GB RAM as standard, which might not be sufficient. For those wanting to skip the upcoming generation, you will be pleased to learn that the iPhone 17 lineup is said to arrive with 12GB RAM, opening a ton of doors for generative AI-related functions.
News Source: Nikkei
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