It feels like we’re still a while away from the iPhone 16 launch, but it looks like things might not be too rosy in Apple town. The company may be expecting a significant drop in iPhone 16 sales, at least if a new supply chain analysis turns out to be true.
Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo recently shared a post on Medium going through the challenges the company faces. Kuo reports that iPhone shipments could decline 15% year over year, saying that “Apple may have the most significant decline among the major global mobile phone brands in 2024.” With the iPhone 16 set to release later this year, this may make for troubling reading for the tech giant.
Kuo suggests these issues stem from a sales decline in China and the new AI features coming to the fore in Android phones. It seems that Chinese consumers are more geared toward foldables at the high end of the market, and Huawei’s comeback has only compounded that issue.
The report also indicates Samsung has upgraded its expectations from between 5-10% for 2024 shipments, following its Samsung Galaxy AI announcements, while Apple’s weekly shipments in China are down 30-40%. It’s too soon to tell whether this is a blip or a long-term shift, but the numbers don’t look good.
Apple’s 2024 lineup already looks geared more toward wearables anyway, but iPhone is the brand’s most important product, and any downturn could spell trouble. And considering that the Apple Watch’s 2024 update also looks like it could be slimmer than expected, it could be a tough year for the Cupertino company.
Of course, we won’t know the state of iPhone sales for sure until the release of the next generation of Apple smartphones, so for something more solid, check out the best gaming iPhone, the best 5G phones, and the best flip phones you can buy today.