Apple's official website crashed! Tonight, iPhone 16 will go on sale

Tonight, Apple's first AI phone, the iPhone 16 series, is up for grabs.

At 8 p.m. tonight, the Apple iPhone 16 series opened for pre-order and will be released on September 20th. Reporters noticed that at the start of the pre-sale, the Apple official website was temporarily inaccessible for purchases. "Apple's official website crashed" also trended on Weibo.

iPhone 16 Pro Series Pre-Order Hot Selling

Reporters observed that at the Tmall Apple official flagship store, multiple versions of iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max were out of stock; while iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus had sufficient supply.

At the Apple product JD.com flagship store, as of 8:20 p.m. on September 13th, over 320,000 people had pre-ordered iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus, with sufficient stock for these two models; over 1.87 million people had pre-ordered iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max, but multiple versions showed as out of stock.

Guotai Junan Securities analysis stated that the iPhone 16 Pro series has increased in size, with the iPhone 16 Pro screen size expanding from 6.1 inches to 6.3 inches, and the iPhone 16 Pro Max from 6.7 inches to 6.9 inches, while the borders have further narrowed, providing a wider visual effect.

Research firm TechInsights predicts that the iPhone 16 series will exceed its predecessor in shipments, with a global shipment forecast of 73 million units by 2024. The iPhone 16 Pro Max is expected to become the best-selling model in the iPhone 16 series, accounting for 35% of total sales, thanks to its larger display, A18 Pro chip, and user appeal.

In terms of pricing, the iPhone 16 series starts at 5999 yuan, with no price increase compared to the previous generation. TechInsights believes that this strategy may put pressure on Apple's operating profit margin, as hardware upgrades and the adoption of Apple Intelligence are expected to increase costs. Maintaining competitive pricing in the face of rising component costs and increased investment in AI infrastructure is a challenge for Apple, but Apple may be hoping for higher sales to offset these concerns.

Industry insiders believe that Apple's iPhone growth in the Chinese market is declining, and the decision not to raise prices for the iPhone 16 series may be an attempt to change the declining sales situation. Market research firm Canalys reported that in the second quarter of 2024, the Chinese smartphone market, after experiencing a rebound in the previous quarter, further recovered with a 10% year-on-year increase in shipments, returning to the level of 70 million units However, the report stated that Apple's shipment ranking has dropped to sixth place, with a year-on-year decrease of 2% in market share, holding a 14% market share.

Institutions optimistic about iPhone 16 series sales

The iPhone 16 series is Apple's first AI phone. Apple stated that the iPhone 16 series is designed for Apple's intelligence, which will be released later after approval by regulatory authorities. Apple's intelligence will be provided in the form of free software updates, with the initial Apple's intelligence features set to be launched in October, supporting American English at the time of release, and will support more languages such as Chinese next year.

Guoyuan Securities believes that the pre-order situation of the iPhone 16 series may affect the production plans for the fourth quarter of 2024 and the first half of 2025, making it a key focus for the market going forward. Compared to the iPhone 15 series, there is more optimism about the sales of the iPhone 16 series.

Everbright Securities believes that the AI of the iPhone 16 series relies more on system upgrades to bring upgrades to all hardware components, but it may not be intuitive for ordinary consumers. For loyal "Apple fans" or consumers with a strong demand for upgrading, eager to experience AI functions as soon as possible, the iPhone 16 series can still drive them to upgrade.

Research institution Counterpoint stated that, compared to hardware upgrades, the landing of Apple's intelligence in various scenarios is a bigger highlight. The application scenarios demonstrated at the Apple event fully consider the convenience of user usage, accelerating the upgrade within the iOS ecosystem and helping to maintain the sales volume of the base version.

Everbright Securities mentioned that although Apple's intelligence is currently offered as a free experience through system updates, it does not rule out the possibility of opening a paid subscription model in the future after users gradually develop habits, which would then open up long-term development space for Apple's service business