The highly anticipated iPhone 16 family is finally here, and... no one seems to be impressed by it. It might be the overly detailed leaks (although that's always the case before a big Apple announcement) or it might be the lack of Apple Intelligence features at launch (which is truly a rare occurrence for a new iPhone), but at the end of the day, the fact of the matter is nothing feels special or unique about the iPhone 16, 16 Plus, 16 Pro, and 16 Pro Max... yet.
Unfortunately for the Cupertino-based tech giant, journalists and bloggers are not the only ones saying that, with many regular consumers seemingly welcoming the new iOS handset quartet with a collective shrug of their shoulders and minimal enthusiasm. The iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max in particular are reportedly performing poorly at the global box-office, which is why Apple is widely expected to kill off the Plus model for next year's iPhone 17 series.
Wait, that doesn't make sense
Well, it doesn't now, but it certainly did prior to this surprising report claiming that early iPhone 16 and 16 Plus pre-orders are beating expectations while iPhone 16 Pro and 16 Pro Max demand is tracking a lot lower than iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max numbers this time last year.
The iPhone 15 Plus, mind you, is nowhere to be found among the ten best-selling mobile devices in the world in the January-June 2024 timeframe, and according to Omdia's in-depth research on the topic, the non-Pro 6.7-incher was only the 28th (!!!) most popular smartphone during that period.
Will we see the iPhone 16 Plus on a similar list next year? That's sure starting to look like a strong possibility.
The iPhone 14 Plus didn't exactly set the world on fire in its first year or so of commercial availability either, which led to the reasonable expectation that the iPhone 16 Plus would fail to connect with a large enough audience to warrant a 2025 sequel. That means Apple may now be caught between a rock and a hard place, having to decide whether or not to cancel the iPhone 17 Plus to make room for that Slim model every insider and their mother is forecasting for a launch next year.
And while it may sound like there's still plenty of time to make that decision, Apple is clearly the kind of company that will never, ever wait until the eleventh hour to finalize a product roster. If the iPhone 17 Plus is not happening, Tim Cook probably already knows that, and he only has a very narrow window of time to change his mind.
Here's a crazy thought...
Why not release five iPhone 17 models? Personally, I never understood why the Mini had to go away when the Plus came out, but if we accept the fact that diminutive iPhones were not selling well and they had to be discontinued, the same simply cannot be said about non-Pro Pluses right now.
Yes, the iPhone 15 Plus was a flop... for reasons I can't really explain, but the iPhone 16 Plus is apparently off to a flying start, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why that's the case. It's because the cheapest iPhone 16 Pro Max is so annoyingly expensive, and there are plenty of Apple fans who can make do with a 6.7 instead of a 6.9-inch display, 128 instead of 256GB storage, and just two rear-facing cameras instead of three... as long as their 900 bucks will get them full Apple Intelligence support.
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These are the current expectations for Apple's 2025 iPhone roster, but I believe there's still room for another model. | Image Credit -- Ice Universe
That's right, the Plus is no longer viewed as the decisively inferior option, and with a Slim model likely to make matters even more confusing on that front next year, it just wouldn't be smart to get rid of the Plus cold turkey. Especially if that recent pricing rumor pans out, with the "vanilla" iPhone 17 expected to cost $799, the 17 Pro likely to go for $1,099 and up, and nothing between the two devices for fans of jumbo-sized handsets looking to spend under $1,200.
There's a reason why the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max have lost quite a bit of ground in the latest smartphone sales chart, and the same reason has seen Apple overtaken by Xiaomi in the global vendor hierarchy. Many buyers want to keep their kidneys in place when getting a new mobile device, and although the iPhone 16 Plus is not traditionally affordable, its value proposition is looking more and more attractive for more and more people.
Now, why would you mess with a good thing and axe the iPhone 17 Plus when you can give the people more diversity and choice at a time they so clearly crave just that stuff?
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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