Apple plans to ship at least 90 million new iPhone 16 by the end of the year, betting on Apple Intelligence as the main driver of demand for new smartphones. This is reported by Bloomberg.
The company has informed suppliers and partners that it is targeting a 10% increase in iPhone 16 shipments by the end of 2024 compared to iPhone 15 shipments in the same period last year. From September to the end of 2023, 81 million iPhone 15s were shipped.
Despite the competition in the market of smartphones with artificial intelligence features, Apple remains convinced that Apple Intelligence will help increase demand for new devices.
In addition to trying to catch up with competitors in the AI space, Apple also needs to increase sales of its smartphones in large markets outside the United States. One of the priority markets is China, where over the past few years, more and more local companies, including those with government support, have been banning employees from using iPhones.
Another challenge for Apple in the Chinese market is its recent partnership with OpenAI. ChatGPT, as well as any other services of the company, are not available in China, which means that Apple will have to look for new partners to cooperate with in order to fully realize the potential of AI on the iPhone 16.