iPhone 16 Pro Demand Has Been Lower Than Expected, Analyst Says

Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said demand for the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max has been "lower than expected" since the devices became available to pre-order in the U.S. and dozens of other countries on Friday. Kuo said his data is based on a "supply chain survey" and shipping estimates listed on Apple's online store.

16 pro
Kuo estimated that sales of all four iPhone 16 models reached about 37 million units in the first weekend after Apple began accepting pre-orders, which is down nearly 13% compared to first-weekend sales of the iPhone 15 series last year. The analyst said a key factor for the decline is the lower demand for the Pro models, with first-weekend sales of the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max estimated to be down 27% and 16%, respectively, compared to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max sales during the equivalent period last year.

The standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus have seen higher demand than the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus during the first weekend of sales, but this has not been enough to offset the lower demand for the Pro models, according to Kuo.

Kuo said a major reason for the iPhone 16 Pro models having lower-than-expected demand is that Apple Intelligence will not be available on the devices when they launch on Friday. Instead, the first Apple Intelligence features are rolling out with iOS 18.1 in October. In addition, the analyst said the iPhone is facing "intense competition" in China.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. In his Powe...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
Apple Logo Black

Apple's Next Launch is 'Imminent'

Sunday February 1, 2026 12:31 pm PST by
The calendar has turned to February, and a new report indicates that Apple's next product launch is "imminent," in the form of new MacBook Pro models. "All signs point to an imminent launch of next-generation MacBook Pros that retain the current form factor but deliver faster chips," Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said on Sunday. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated...
Apple MacBook Pro M4 hero

New MacBook Pros Reportedly Launching Alongside macOS 26.3

Sunday February 1, 2026 5:42 am PST by
Apple is planning to launch new MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips alongside macOS 26.3, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. "Apple's faster MacBook Pros are planned for the macOS 26.3 release cycle," wrote Gurman, in his Power On newsletter today. "I'm told the new models — code-named J714 and J716 — are slated for the macOS 26.3 software cycle, which runs from...

Top Rated Comments

Klae17 Avatar
18 months ago
At this point, I'm keeping my iPhone 14 Pro out of spite.
Score: 130 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dcdunk Avatar
18 months ago
hmmm, so that's what happens when you dripfeed new features year after year. not surprised
Score: 121 Votes (Like | Disagree)
grilledcheesesandwich Avatar
18 months ago
You’re telling me the thinner bezels didn’t get people to upgrade?
Score: 81 Votes (Like | Disagree)
klasma Avatar
18 months ago

Kuo said a major reason for the iPhone 16 Pro models having lower-than-expected demand is that Apple Intelligence will not be available on the devices when they launch on Friday.
I kinda doubt that that’s the main reason.
Score: 76 Votes (Like | Disagree)
thermal Avatar
18 months ago
iPhone 16 Pro weight has increased too much for me. More interested in regular 16 or 15 Pro (to replace my iPhone 13) due to weight.
Score: 65 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Andres Cantu Avatar
18 months ago
People are voting with their wallets.

And I really don’t think the lower demand is due to Apple Intelligence launching until later. I don’t think the average consumer will wait because they know it will launch later. I would think they think it will launch on day 1.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)