The Six Five team discusses iPhone 16 Sales – Are You Not Entertained?
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Transcript:
Daniel Newman: Let’s talk iPhone. Yesterday morning, I think I turned on the TV and I saw Tim Cook graciously standing at the door for some Apple super fans to come in and get their first iPhone 16. But the news isn’t all good and rosy for the iPhone. What are you hearing?
Patrick Moorhead: Yeah, it was all fun and games yesterday for me. There were some ridiculous sales associates doing artificial intelligence chants, even though the really good stuff probably won’t show up for six months. Then you saw ghost town pictures and then you saw ones with maybe some lines. So, anyway, it’s all fun. But Minko essentially came out and said that the iPhone 16 sold less than the iPhone 15, down around 13% from iPhone 15 in the first weekend. How he gets his information, I have no idea, particularly the in-store from Apple. But this guy has been right more than he’s been wrong. So, maybe it’s true, but it was really a mixed bag, right? I mean iPhone 16 Pro Max, down 16%, iPhone 16 Pro, down 27%, but the iPhone 16 Plus was up 48%. Clearly showing that people want the big screen, but they don’t want to pay for the Pro or Max capabilities. So, mixed bag, but it looks like Apple’s down. I’m not surprised. It was one of the least interesting phones. I mean, I usually get a new iPhone in addition to my Samsungs every year. I’m skipping this generation. I don’t know, Dan, you’re rocking the iPhone 13 Pro like a boomer.
Daniel Newman: Pro Max, Pro Max.
Patrick Moorhead: Pro Max like a boomer. What are you going to do? What do you think?
Daniel Newman: Yeah, I’ll be heading over to the store when the iPhone 17 comes out to get it. I can’t find any value in it. I’m not a photographer and I don’t know if I want any higher resolution of those selfies we’re taking. I know you look great, but I’m aging here. But in all seriousness, I mean I’ll get around to it. There’s just nothing. I’m just not enthused. I’m not excited. It’s not changing anything for me. The biggest theme of the GlowTime event was coming soon. Well, great. When it comes, I’ll buy a phone. But right now, it’s not doing anything that really makes it worth my while. The little photo button from the 2010 Windows phone, that’s pretty cool. I mean I guess I’m glad they finally thought of it 14 years later.
Patrick Moorhead: By the way, it’s incredibly hard to use. One of the analysts at my non-disclosed advisory used it and it barely works. It’s really hard.
Daniel Newman: It’s not great. So, in the end, I think the biggest problem is the phone’s fine. It’s just the hype was so big. The hype was so big. I think there’s some analysts out there that are going to have gotten this really wrong. The one thing I think that will be right is AI will elongate the cycles for their next handful of devices because people will upgrade as they see features that become more valuable. Unlike the past where new iOS updates have been pretty incremental and consistently usable across the whole base of devices, for everybody now that’s on a 15 below the Pro and before, when they see an AI feature or capability come out from Apple Intelligence that they want to try or use, they’re going to be forced to go get the new phone. So, I think people like me that have been holdouts will eventually see something and I’m going to be like, “I want to be able to do that.”
Patrick Moorhead: I look at the quality of your pictures. Sometimes you’ve got food on your lens or something or something’s on there.
Daniel Newman: Yeah, that’s just me though. I’m a pig. It has nothing to do with the phone. The camera’s fine.
Patrick Moorhead: No, exactly. When your lens is clear, I mean I try to compare my pictures with yours and they’re not a whole lot better. My analyst, Anshel Sag, and I think one of your analysts was pretty stoked on it for prosumer. Keith loved the four microphones because he does a lot of linear video on his iPhone. He has got this amazing AI series, check it out. Also, Anshel Sag was super stoked. He’s essentially a professional photographer and he really got into the 4K 120 capture.
Daniel Newman: Like I said, a use case is a use case. For some certain people, it makes sense. I just mean as a whole, I don’t know if it changes my life. I think the way it was framed was that this was going to be this life changing breakthrough. I still have the S22, Pat. I know that there’s a 24 and it’s awesome and I think you use it. I have a Fold too. I want to get that Huawei triple fold and then I want to share all my data with China. That’s my goal, the new triple fold, and then I want to give all my data to China. That’s pretty cool. But we won’t.
