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apple Apple welcomed customers to its stores around the world on Friday for the launch of the iPhone 16, Apple Watch Series 10 and AirPods 4.
The new products were announced at an event earlier this month and have been available for preorder since September 13. The company lit up a glass cube in its New York City Fifth Avenue Apple Store to highlight enhancements to Siri, due to be rolled out next month, that will light up the edges of the new iPhone screen.
Apple’s new iPhones will feature new Apple Intelligence features available starting in October, marking the company’s latest foray into artificial intelligence. The new features will let customers rewrite text, remove objects from photos, and talk to an improved Siri. The software advancements will only be available on the iPhone 16 and last year’s iPhone 15 Pro devices.
Apple’s new iPhone 16 is displayed at the Apple Store on Regent Street in London, England on September 20, 2024.
Rashid Necati Aslim | Anadolu | Getty Images
But analysts reported weaker-than-expected demand for the latest iPhones, sending Apple shares lower on Monday. TF Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo said in a note on Monday that first-week sales were down about 12% year-over-year compared to last year’s iPhone 15. Barclays, JP Morgan and Bank of America also noted that longer shipping times could dampen demand for the more expensive iPhone Pro models compared to last year.
CNBC’s Steve Kovach spoke with CEO Tim Cook outside Apple’s Fifth Avenue store and asked him if sales were better or worse than last year. “We don’t know yet. It’s still the first hour, so we’ll see,” Cook replied.
UBS analysts said on Friday that the data is also collected by analysing wait times for new iPhones, and suggested investors shouldn’t overreact to the appearance of a drop in sales because wait times were longer last year in part due to supply chain disruptions.
Apple Store Fifth Avenue New York
Steve Kovach | CNBC
“Ahead of the iPhone 16 launch, our analysis suggested that a lack of killer apps and a possibly half-baked Apple Intelligence rollout would dampen demand,” the UBS analysts wrote. “While we still maintain that the iPhone/iOS attribute combination is evolutionary rather than revolutionary, we caution investors against overreacting to data suggesting somewhat muted initial demand.”
UBS analysts said last year’s supply chain disruptions “slightly skewed/inflated last year’s data,” resulting in longer customer wait times for the Pro models. UBS said some pre-orders for the iPhone 15 Pro Max last year saw customers wait 41 days, while pre-orders for the iPhone 16 Pro Max this year saw customers wait 26 days.
“However, roughly a week after launch, data across all models and regions supports our view that a supercycle is not imminent, with US and China data disappointing compared to last year,” they wrote.
Following the announcement at Apple headquarters, new Apple Watch Series 10 model devices were on display.
Andrey Sokolow | Picture Alliance | Getty Images
The Apple Watch Series 10 has a larger screen than previous models. Like its predecessor, the Series 9, it supports new sleep apnea detection and other new features. The AirPods 4 have been refreshed with a smaller charging case and noise-canceling options.
CNBC reviewed the new iPhone 16 Pro Max and Apple Watch Series 10 earlier this week.
—CNBC’s Michael Bloom and Steve Kovach contributed to this report.
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