The official website crashed, some models sold out in seconds. Who is buying the iPhone 16?

Four days ago, Apple, which thought it was ushering in a "highlight moment", released its annual flagship iPhone 16 series. Not only was it criticized for being incremental, but its popularity was also overshadowed by the Huawei Mate XT with a tri-fold screen released on the same day.

At 8 p.m. on September 13th, Beijing time, the new iPhone 16 series and other products officially started pre-orders. Interestingly, contrary to most people's expectations, the first batch of iPhone 16 Pro series machines quickly sold out on Apple's official website, JD.com, Taobao, and other pre-sale channels. Phrases like "iPhone 16 Pro Max sold out instantly" also trended on hot search lists.

A Huaqiangbei merchant told Titanium Media APP that every year, new iPhone products are in high demand, but only on the first day or the first two days in the past two years. The price increase in the secondary market is also unstable. Therefore, the initial pre-sale is bound to be hot, with both genuine buyers and those looking to profit from the price difference.

"In fact, consumers with real demand don't need to rush. The premium capacity of the iPhone is not as good as before. Except for some particularly popular versions, most versions will quickly return to normal prices."

It is understood that the first-day price increase range for the iPhone 16 Pro series is between 300-500 yuan, with some places seeing increases of 800-1000 yuan, but these are very few. On platforms like Xianyu and Xiaohongshu, many users can be seen selling the first batch they managed to grab.

"Now everyone is savvy, which also prevents the secondary market prices from rising. Of course, the main reason is the lack of innovation. If it were Huawei releasing a new tri-fold screen, it would start at around twenty to thirty thousand."

Over a million reservations, official website crashes Pro series delivery delayed by a month

At 1 a.m. on September 10th, the annual tech gala officially kicked off. In less than 100 minutes, the first 40 minutes were dedicated to the prelude of the new Apple Watch and AirPods 4, followed by the introduction of the iPhone 16 series, with the standard version starting at 5999 yuan and the Pro version starting at 7999 yuan.

The new generation of iPhone does have stronger performance, aligning everything with AI, bringing many new user experiences. The larger size, added camera button, and color options have excited many users. Some Apple fans even told Titanium Media APP that this year's iPhone 16 is the biggest update in recent years.

As the highlight of this event, the nearly 1-hour introduction of the iPhone 16 series was dominated by AI, with many updates and designs aimed at better serving AI. However, aside from AI, the iPhone 16 series is still similar to last year's 15, with incremental upgrades and cost-saving measures, lacking a true "highlight moment". More importantly, Apple's AI is currently unavailable in China and is not expected to be available until next year However, even so, there are still many users waiting to upgrade their phones. As of September 13th, before the pre-sale started, the number of reservations on JD.com exceeded 1.6 million, and the number of reservations on Tmall also exceeded one million. On platforms like Xianyu and Xiaohongshu, there are merchants offering proxy purchasing services at prices ranging from 300 to 500 yuan, guaranteeing that they can grab the first batch of goods on the 20th.

At the same time, data released by the second-hand platform Zhuanzhuan shows that after the release of the iPhone 16 series, the popularity of Apple phones on the second-hand trading platform surged. The inquiry volume for recycling Apple phones increased by 96% compared to the previous period, and the search volume increased by 101%. iPhone 15 Pro Max, iPhone 15 Pro, and iPhone 14 Pro became popular models for recycling. "Maybe it's because there's a camera button now, so after getting a new phone, others will know that you are an esteemed iPhone 16 user, so many people have a strong desire to upgrade," as one Apple fan put it.

At 8 p.m. on the 13th, the pre-sale began. As usual, both the official website and the app were inaccessible at first. After about 2 to 3 minutes, the official website became available for pre-order, and almost all versions could be purchased for the first day of release. There was a small episode where after successful payment, the order still showed as unpaid, most likely due to too many users causing a system service issue, but it was resolved shortly.

Half an hour later, the standard version of the iPhone 16 could still be picked up on the 20th, while the Pro series was more popular. Taking Beijing as an example, except for a few scattered memory versions, almost all offline flagship stores were sold out on the 20th, and the delivery date for online orders was pushed back to after October 10th. On Tmall's official Apple flagship store, some versions of the iPhone 16 Pro also required delivery times ranging from 33 days to 54 days.

"It's said that there will be price reductions on Double Eleven, and the cost-effectiveness will be higher. When it was first released, there were criticisms online saying they wouldn't buy it, but when it came to the pre-sale, everyone's actions were still so honest, grabbing them faster than anyone else," one Apple fan complained. "I don't know if Apple is doing hunger marketing, or if there really is so much demand."

Everyone is "bullish," no longer crazy about price hikes

The above mentioned Huaqiangbei merchants revealed that the first day of sales every year is the hottest time for iPhone new products and also the time with the highest premiums. However, compared to previous years, the popularity of iPhone new products has greatly decreased, and prices are changing by the hour. Moreover, people are more cautious when receiving the goods, especially with the standard version, which is almost certain to be out of stock as soon as it is released.

Looking at the scene on the first day of the iPhone 15 series release last year, the standard version was out of stock immediately, and the Pro series saw price hikes ranging from 300 to 1000 yuan, but some versions were already out of stock in the afternoon. In comparison, after the release of the iPhone 14 series, the price hikes for the Pro series were between 800 and 900 yuan, while for the Pro Max series, the price hikes were between 1000 and 1500 yuan, with the purple version seeing a price hike of over 2000 yuan "Congratulations to friends who have managed to get the 16Pro and 16ProMax. Don't rush to ask how much you can earn. I can't answer you now. The price is definitely based on the market conditions on the day of arrival, and the price on the day of arrival is also changing in real-time. The price is subject to the current market price." A merchant wrote on a certain platform, "You can tell me one day in advance whether you got the 16Pro or 16ProMax, what color and memory size, so I can register it for easy receipt and for us to track demand. Anyway, we receive goods every year."

Unlike in the past when prices were released early, now everyone is also adopting a wait-and-see attitude. After last year's pre-sale opened, a price list obtained by the Titanium Media APP from merchants showed that the premium for the first day of arrival of the iPhone15 Pro series ranged from 300 to 900 yuan. However, this year, most merchants are adding at most 500 yuan, with 800 yuan being a minority. Moreover, there are few willing to pay a deposit first, as they all want to see how the market is the day before the release.

"Why aren't prices going up? The reason is actually very simple. On the one hand, the appeal of the iPhone products has decreased, and on the other hand, 'everyone is a savvy trader.' Many people buy new products to resell at a profit, and the number of actual users is decreasing," the above-mentioned merchant said. "We are now tracking demand to see how much there really is. If supply exceeds demand, it will definitely break quickly. Also, since there hasn't been much improvement in performance, many users are turning to look at the second-hand iPhone15 Pro series, which also has an impact."

On platforms like Xiaohongshu and Xianyu, instead of sharing the joy of getting the latest iPhone products as before, many people are now asking how much more they can sell for and are discussing in the comments section.

In addition, due to Apple's AI, some people are also rushing to get the Hong Kong version of the new iPhone16, which has a physical card slot, is cheaper, but requires an overseas ID, and is also a stripped-down version that cannot be used with third-party apps like ChatGPT. From the current market conditions, the price increase compared to the domestic version is higher, reaching up to a thousand yuan, but it requires offline pickup, which can be more troublesome.

The key to selling goods is still AI, Investors are not optimistic about the stock price decline?

Looking at the updates in the iPhone16 series, whether it's the addition of a camera button or the improvement in processor performance, all upgrades are designed for AI. Just as Apple CEO Cook said during the conference, "The new generation of iPhone is completely designed for Apple Intelligence."

It is worth mentioning that the functions currently being displayed are still in testing, and Apple Intelligence currently only supports English. In December, English dialects in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK will be supported, while users in the Chinese market will have to wait until next year to experience Apple Intelligence.

Currently, Apple's AI in China is still a "pie in the sky," and it is unknown when it can be realized According to information obtained from the Titanium Media APP, Apple is currently still selecting and negotiating with cloud service providers, and its own local model also needs to be filed in China before it can go online.

Market research firm TechInsights pointed out that Huawei's progress and restrictions on Apple products in China have increased the complexity of Apple's market in China. With China promoting more local brands, Apple's growth prospects in the region seem limited. As of the close of the U.S. stock market on September 13, Apple's stock price closed at $222.5, down 0.12% and also fell after hours.

However, based on the global market, some institutions have given initial sales expectations of 80-90 million units. Counterpoint believes that Apple Intelligence will drive iPhone revenue growth in a step-by-step manner, rather than a single super cycle.

"In history, Apple has experienced two key super cycles: the first occurred in 2016, triggered by the large-screen iPhone 6; the second occurred in 2021, driven by the clever combination strategy of the iPhone 12/13 series and the rebound in demand after the epidemic. For Apple Intelligence, at least in the short term, we do not see a phenomenon of 'accumulated demand' for generative artificial intelligence features among consumers. Apple Intelligence will adopt a phased strategy in terms of features and release regions, so its full impact may take some time to fully manifest. These factors will lead to Apple's iPhone revenue showing step-by-step growth, rather than a single super cycle."

In conclusion, in the era of universal AI, the trend of the iPhone 16 series depends entirely on the experience and completeness of Apple's AI. For users who are not in a hurry, they can actually wait for next year's iPhone 17 series, which may have larger memory and new designs. After all, the 8GB memory of the iPhone 16 series is a bit stingy.

With less than a week left until the sale on September 20th, the prices of the iPhone 16 series in the secondary market are still changing. Compared to the heat of the sale, everyone is now concerned about whether this year's new product release speed will set a new record