iPhone 15 series first 17 days unit sales in China down 4.5% compared to iPhone 14
Excluding the Plus, which was released three weeks late last year, sales declines exceeded 10%
Early US numbers show opposite trend with robust demand across all models, especially Pro Max
Beijing, Hong Kong, London, New Delhi, Boston, Seoul – October 17, 2023
iPhone 15 series unit sales for the first 17 days of sales in China is underperforming last year’s iPhone 14, according to preliminary data from Counterpoint Research’s Smartphone 360 Weekly Smartphone Sales Tracker. The data is in contrast to early US numbers coming in which reflect robust demand across all models, especially the Pro Max.
“China’s headline numbers for the 15 series are in the red, and this is a reflection of the broader decline in consumer spending,” says Mengmeng Zhang. “But the shorter pre-holiday shopping period coupled with supply mismatches on the Pro Max (with consumers shying away from blue) could push some of the demand to calendar Q4.”
Source: Counterpoint Research Smartphone 360 Weekly Tracker, China.
Early US numbers are in stark contrast to China, with the first 9 days of iPhone 15 sales showing double-digit increases in overall unit sales and healthy demand across Base, Pro and especially Pro Max models.
“The US is hot right now with back-to-back stellar weekends for the new iPhone. Overall reception of the 15 series has been very positive and we’re expecting a major upgrade cycle from iPhone 11 and 12 users,” says Jeff Fieldhack, Research Director for North America. “Of course, we’re talking about the first couple weeks of sales, but it’s a positive sign and takes a lot of sting off the China numbers.”
Background
Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the technology, media and telecom (TMT) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.
Pre-order delivery wait times for iPhone 15 base and Pro Max models significantly higher than previous generation
High demand coupled with initial supply constraints likely factors driving Pro Max’s delivery times to record high during pre-order week
iPhone 15 base model also seeing high wait times; China at 4X that of iPhone 14.
Boston, Seoul, Beijing, New Delhi, London – September 25, 2023
Delivery times on pre-orders for the iPhone 15 and 15 Pro Max came in significantly higher than corresponding iPhone 14 models across key markets, according to Counterpoint Research’s Apple 360 Service. The US was a prime example, with buyers of the base and top-end model having to wait 4 and 9 days longer, respectively, than those last year; Plus and Pro buyers will receive their devices up to two weeks faster.
Source: Counterpoint Research Apple 360 Service. *iPhone 15: Sep 15 – 21, 2023 and iPhone 14: Sep 9 – 15, 2022; excludes weekends. Note iPhone 14 Plus available from Oct 7, 2022 vs Sep 16, 2022 for other iPhone 14 models.
“I don’t think it’s a big surprise the Pro Max is showing longer wait times than its predecessor,” says Senior Analyst, Manufacturing, Ivan Lam. “It’s normal to experience hiccups when you’ve got significant upgrades on complex mechanisms like the camera module. But looking at wait times this weekend as the product starts selling in stores, it looks like availability is moving in the right direction and normalizing.”
Commenting on the iPhone 15, Jeff Fieldhack, Research Director for North America, notes, “The introduction of premium features like Dynamic Island previously exclusive to the Pro lineup has really increased its appeal to the general consumer base. It’s basically an iPhone 14 Pro at base level price and paired with the new aesthetic updates has created more incentives for users to upgrade this year.”
In the run up to Friday’s general release, the base model saw stronger than expected wait times in China, where domestic competitors are jostling to grab share in the premium segment which has been relatively unaffected by the overall market malaise. Most notable has been the rise and popularity of flip-style foldables as well as Huawei’s much anticipated launch of its Mate 60 Pro, which some are seeing as a direct competitor to the iPhone.
“What’s a bit surprising are the base model iPhone 15 wait times in China, which were 4X more than last year on launch day. We were expecting them to come in a lot lower – maybe on par with last year – based on all the discounting we saw on the 14 series during H1,” reflects Archie Zhang, Research Analyst, China. “But it could just be a sign Apple’s still ramping up supply as we move into the busiest quarter.”
“And as far as ultra-premium is concerned, the Pro Max is still the most coveted iPhone in China with long delivery wait times reflecting this,” adds Zhang. “But they’re similar to last year at the moment, and with scalper premiums way down, it could be a combination of less appetite for impulse buying amongst consumers and a similar demand-supply profile as last year.”
Background
Counterpoint Technology Market Research is a global research firm specializing in products in the TMT (technology, media and telecom) industry. It services major technology and financial firms with a mix of monthly reports, customized projects and detailed analyses of the mobile and technology markets. Its key analysts are seasoned experts in the high-tech industry.
Footfalls at Apple Stores in the US were up on the launch day for iPhone series sales, with the iPhone 15 Pro Max being the top model in demand.
Delivery times for all models are becoming longer compared to the iPhone 14 series launch.
eSIM activation process has become smoother with the second eSIM-only iPhone launch.
Apple Store executives are heavily pushing the gaming aspect of the new Pro series.
Apple Store sales for the iPhone 15 series started in the US on September 22, with people lining up outside the stores across the country to get their hands on the devices. This year felt a bit different compared to the previous three years –wait queues seemed to be much longer and more in-person shopping was done. Gone were the COVID-19 distancing measures and online-order pushes from Apple and carriers alike. Here are the five big takeaways from the sales launch day:
Store traffic for Apple locations is up while carriers see limited uptake: It seems we are back to waiting in long lines to purchase new Apple products during launch season. Just like last year’s launch, Tim Cook opened the sales at Apple’s 5th Avenue store in New York and greeted customers personally. Carrier stores, on the other hand, saw limited traffic and constrained iPhone inventory as Apple more tightly controls the supply during launch.
iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max are selling out or very limited quantity remains: As we have seen in previous launches, the Pro versions tend to have stronger demand as early adopters eagerly wait to upgrade their devices. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is the top model in demand.
Delivery times are increasing, even for the base models: Demand for all iPhones has increased compared to last year. Apple is projecting delivery dates of October 4-9 for the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus models and October 23-30 for the Pro models on the launch day for the base memory configuration and black color models. In comparison, the iPhone 14 only had a slight lag of four days for delivery while the iPhone 14 Pro models saw delivery times in the 4-5-week range – similar to the iPhone 15 Pro models.
eSIM issues have largely subsided: When Apple first came out with eSIM-only iPhones last year, there were many issues with the initial transition from physical SIM swaps to eSIM. Carriers had to massively adjust their activation process and due to the large demand for iPhones during the launch, there were some bottlenecks that caused long delays for customers waiting to have their numbers transferred. Store representatives say this year the process has been much smoother and quicker.
iPhone 15 Pro Max is being heavily promoted as a gaming machine: Store representatives have been given several talking points around the iPhone 15 Pro Max’s gaming capabilities. From hardware-accelerated ray tracing and a new 6-core GPU to USB-C-enabled 4K gaming on an external monitor, the new Pro series devices are being pushed as viable alternatives to consoles and other Android devices alike.
Apple has increased the price for its latest Pro Max model by $100 in the US.
Apple is offering better trade-in values for N-2 or N-3 devices compared to last year to help upgrade its older-generation base.
The Pro Max price increase to $1,199 is mostly a result of an upgrade to a titanium chassis as well as a telephoto camera.
iPhone 15 promotions are slightly worse compared to last year, especially with the higher price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
Apple has released its new iPhone 15 series, confirming the price increase for the Pro Max model by $100 in the US. This is the first time since the Pro series launched in 2019 that Apple has raised its prices. Apple’s carrier promotions have softened slightly compared to the iPhone 14 launch while trade-in values for N-1 devices (newest generation minus one, i.e. iPhone 14) have also decreased. Apple is offering better trade-in values for N-2 or N-3 devices compared to last year to help upgrade its older-generation base.
New pricing for Pro Max – Now at $1,199 for base model
The Pro Max price increase to $1,199 is mostly a result of an upgrade to a titanium chassis as well as a telephoto camera, which will allow for 5x optical zoom with a 120mm lens. The base model now also comes with 256GB of storage. This price increase may change consumer purchasing patterns and potentially have repercussions for Apple’s overall ASP as consumers may decide to purchase more affordable models this time around. It may be noted here that the 256GB iPhone 14 Pro Max also retailed for $1,199.
US promotions decrease slightly
US carriers Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T generally have the same top-line promotions for the highest tiered plans on Apple’s website as last year’s iPhone 14 launch. This means that both AT&T and T-Mobile will offer up to $1,000 off on devices with a qualifying trade-in and eligible plan. Verizon remains the outlier, offering a discount of only $800. However, Verizon and T-Mobile’s lower-tiered plans have seen a decrease in value. This means that iPhone 15 promotions are slightly worse compared to last year, especially with the higher price of the iPhone 15 Pro Max.
This comes at a time when carriers are seeing historically low upgrade rates and smartphone purchases are being delayed as consumers continue to face economic uncertainty. Nevertheless, we believe the iPhone 15 has the potential to be another big upgrade cycle for Apple, especially for the iPhone 11 and iPhone 12 owners as they look to upgrade their three- to four-year-old devices.
Trade-in Values Have Decreased for N-1 Models, But Apple is Pushing its Older Base to Upgrade
Although the discounts offered have largely remained the same, the pure trade-in values of N-1 devices have fallen, again. When the iPhone 13 series launched, customers could get a maximum of $790 in trade-in value for their old iPhone 12 Pro Max. This trade-in value dropped to $720 for the iPhone 13 Pro Max when the iPhone 14 series released last year. This year’s iPhone 15 launch saw trade-in values drop to $650 for the iPhone 14 Pro Max as the highest-value trade-in device.
Compared to the years before, Apple is putting a stronger focus on offering better trade-in values for its N-2 and N-3 models such as the iPhone 13 series and iPhone 12 series. Trade-in values for N-2 models have increased 9%-28% YoY for this year’s launch. This also shows that Apple wants to incentivize customers to upgrade their older models to the latest iPhone 15 while signaling to the iPhone 14 users to hold off for now. In fact, these trade-in values could potentially be more attractive to customers than carrier deals, especially if they are not on the highest tiered plans available. This might lead to more customers purchasing an unlocked device directly from Apple rather than opting for a carrier promotion offered by Apple.
The USB Type-C connector is the biggest upgrade for the iPhone 15 series.
The regular iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus now feature the Dynamic Island.
Pro models get the latest A17 Pro SoC and 5x optical zoom camera.
It is mid-September and time to talk about the new and shiny iPhones. Yes, Apple just announced its latest iPhone 15 series and there are a lot of changes it brings, even if some are just incremental. As usual, there are four new models in the series – the base iPhone 15, the slightly bigger iPhone 15 Plus, and then the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max.
The biggest change for the entire iPhone 15 line-up is the switch to the USB Type-C connectivity port, which is now a universally accepted standard. However, Apple has still managed to add differentiation between the regular and Pro models in terms of transfer speeds. There are many other significant changes that the new iPhones bring to the table, so let us dive right in to talk about them.
WATCH: iPhone 15 series, Apple Watch Series 9, Watch Ultra 2: First Impressions
iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max: Titanium body, Action Button, A17 Pro SoC and more
The iPhone 15 Pro models bring the absolute best that Apple has to offer. Both the Pro models feature a titanium body with a brushed finish and rounded edges. The glass at the back has a textured matte finish. All this adds to their gorgeous look and feel, while also making them lighter.
Source: Apple
The alert slider, which has been there since the first-generation iPhone model, is finally going and being replaced with the Action Button. This new button can be configured to perform quick tasks, like switching on the torchlight, camera or voice recorder. All you need to do is press and hold the Action Button to quickly launch those functions. But sadly, it can only be configured to perform one function, and there is no double- or triple-press function, which is a missed opportunity.
The latest A17 Pro SoC powers the iPhone 15 Pro series:
It is built on TSMC’s 3nm process.
It has a six-core CPU (two performance cores and four efficiency cores).
It has 19 billion transistors.
It has a six-core GPU with shader architecture and ray tracing.
It has a 16-core Neural Engine (2x faster with 35 TOPS).
Source: Apple
The CPU and GPU bring faster performance and better efficiency than the predecessor. But the biggest takeaway here is the ray tracing and improved mobile gaming capabilities that Apple spoke at length. Console games like Resident Evil Village, Resident Evil 4 and Assassin’s Creed Mirage are coming to the iPhone 15 Pro, clearly showing how Apple is getting serious about unlocking the Pro models’ capabilities.
The next big upgrade comes in the photography department. Both smartphones feature:
48MP main camera, 24mm wide, f/1.8 aperture, 1/1.28-inch sensor size with 1.22um pixels, sensor-shift OIS
The biggest difference between the Pro and Pro Max camera systems is in the zooming capabilities of the telephoto lens. Both feature a 12MP camera with f/2.8 aperture telephoto lens. But while the iPhone 15 Pro has a 77mm equivalent lens enabling 3x optical zoom, the iPhone 15 Pro Max has a 120mm equivalent lens enabling 5x optical zoom. This is enabled by the new tetraprism design and folded glass structure, allowing for a compact design compared to the bulky camera modules of competitors with periscope lenses.
Source: Apple
Utilizing the power of computational photography, the iPhone 15 Pro Max also offers seven different focal lengths – 13 mm using the ultrawide lens; 24mm, 28mm and 35mm from the main 48MP wide lens; and 48mm and 120mm using the 12MP tele lens. In the case of the 15 Pro, you still get seven different focal lengths, but instead of 120mm, you get a maximum of 77mm.
Apple has one more trick up its sleeve in offering differentiated features on the premium Pro models. The cameras can also capture Spatial Videos using the ultrawide and main cameras to create a 3D video. Users can then relive these memories on the Apple Vision Pro.
Source: Apple
In terms of other features, both the iPhone Pros feature LTPO Super Retina XDR displays with 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, support for HDR10, and Dolby Vision, with a maximum peak brightness of 2000nits. The iPhone 15 Pro is offered in 128GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB storage variants. The Pro Max model base storage starts at 256GB and goes all the way up to 1TB. Both smartphones are also IP68-rated for water and dust resistance. Besides the Satellite SoS and Crash Detection, Apple has also added Roadside Assistance via satellite feature. There is also a new second-generation UWB chip which will help in connecting with other devices such as iPhones, Apple Watch, and AirTag from up to three times farther away.
Source: Apple
Lastly, the iPhone 15 Pro series gets USB-C 3 with up to 10Gb/second transfer speeds. Users can also use USB-C to USB-C cable to charge the updated AirPods Pro and Apple Watch with the iPhone’s reverse wired charging feature.
Source: Apple
iPhone 15, 15 Plus: Dynamic Island, 48MP main camera and more
Coming to the iPhone 15 series there are two big changes compared to the iPhone 14 series. Both devices now come with the Dynamic Island, which is Apple’s pill-shaped notch. Leveraging the developer ecosystem Apple is expanding its utility to show more details such as sports scores, and even flight information, from timing to the gate and even seat details.
Source: Apple
With the iPhone 6s, Apple switched from an 8MP camera to a 12MP main camera. But since then, till the iPhone 14, there have been no major camera upgrades. So, the 48MP primary camera on the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus brings a significant upgrade now. It also has a wider f/1.6 aperture over the iPhone 14 Pro’s f/1.8 aperture, enabling better low-light photography experiences. Making use of the larger sensor, the iPhone 15 also gets 2x lossless zoom support. The main camera is paired with a 12MP f/2.4 aperture ultrawide angle lens.
Source: Apple
Under the hood, the iPhone 15 and 15 Plus are powered by the A16 Bionic SoC from the iPhone 14 Pro series, which is already known to offer great performance. We have already covered the same in our iPhone 14 Pro review, and we can expect the same level of performance on the 15 series now.
Source: Apple
Apple iPhone 15 series pricing, sale date
With all the new changes, Apple has still managed to price the iPhones well. The base iPhone 15 model will retail starting at $799, whereas the iPhone 15 Plus will be available starting from $899. The iPhone 15 Pro, on the other hand, will start at $999. However, the iPhone 15 Pro Max sees a slight price change, getting dearer by $100, and will start at $1,199. They go on pre-order starting September 15 and will be available starting September 22.
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