According to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, first-weekend pre-order sales for the iPhone 16 series are expected to be over 37 million units, which is a decrease of roughly 12.7% from first-weekend sales for the iPhone 15 series last year.

The expert claims that the primary contributing cause is the lower-than-anticipated demand for the iPhone 16 Pro series. The expert ascribes this to the continuous rivalry in the Chinese market as well as the postponed rollout of Apple Intelligence.

The analyst notes that "the supply chain's production plans are unlikely to change significantly in the near term," despite the YoY fall in sales of iPhone 16 Pro preorders over the first weekend. Apple has the opportunity to boost sales through peak season promotions and the debut of Apple Intelligence.

Nonetheless, Jefferies and Citi analysts stated that the company's early sales of the iPhone 16 series were lacklustre.

Pre-order numbers and delivery wait times are being monitored by both investment banks; preliminary indications indicate that customer enthusiasm for the new devices is not as high as it was the previous year.

Although the iPhone 16 Pro Max versions sold out swiftly in China, according to Jefferies, delivery periods of two to three weeks haven't increased, suggesting a steady supply situation as opposed to rising demand.

Only a few days after pre-orders started, iPhone 16 Pro versions were ready for pickup in stores, according to Jefferies, which reported lower-than-expected interest in the US.

Additionally, Jefferies noted that the demand picture could have been distorted by subsidies from websites like JD.com and Pinduoduo. The supply chain for Apple may be impacted by the company's initial sluggish demand, but according to Jefferies, "rising ASP could offset volume weakness for AAPL, but may be less so for the supply chain, which depends more on volume."

According to Citi analysts, there is a tendency towards higher-end alternatives, as Pro Max models have the longest wait periods, followed by Pro models.

They did, however, point out that, on average, the delivery timeframes for the iPhone 16 models are one week faster than those for the iPhone 15 introduction last year.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)