Report: Apple thinks AI will sell more than USB-C, ramps up iPhone 16 production

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Report: Apple thinks AI will sell more than USB-C, ramps up iPhone 16 production
*Header image is referential and showcases the base model iPhone 15 which will not receive AI. | Image credit — PhoneArena

The iPhone 16 is just around the corner, and apparently Apple has a lot of confidence in how it’s going to do. Though iPhone 15 was a big step because of USB-C, relatively speaking, the company thinks Apple Intelligence is going to be a more enticing reason to upgrade.

As such, Apple has reportedly ordered components for almost 90 million iPhones, up from 80 million last year. Funnily enough, the component suppliers themselves anticipate underwhelming returns for 2024 as they think AI won’t be enough reason to upgrade to an iPhone 16.

As it stands now, I also don’t think Apple’s take on AI is impressive enough to warrant a modest upgrade in hardware. Bloomberg’s Apple insider Mark Gurman says Apple Intelligence is underwhelming compared to Gemini. It doesn’t help that not only will the iPhone 16 launch without Apple Intelligence, it won’t even receive all of the advertised features until some time next year.

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Judge for yourself. Worth the upgrade? | Video credit — Apple

There’s a bigger problem when it comes to meeting iPhone 16 sales targets: AI might be the only reason to get an iPhone 16 but said AI is not coming to the EU. This is perhaps the most fragmented launch of an iPhone in history.

If an entire region that accounts for so much revenue isn’t getting the most promising feature of Apple’s new smartphone, why in the world would they get one? Not to mention the fact that Apple’s beef with the EU has already begun to crumble the walls around Apple’s garden. The iPhone 16 is going to be a very different phone in the EU.

Apple has always made solid phones, even if a lot of the company’s decisions remain controversial. There’s no doubt the iPhone 16 is going to end up as one of the best phones to buy today.

But is it going to be enough to meet Apple’s expectations? Or is Apple going to have to accept poor sales like it did for the Apple Vision Pro?
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