According to a report looking at shipments of components from Apple’s supply chain, the top-of-the-line iPhone 16 Pro Max will be the most produced 2024 iPhone model. According to The Elec, Apple will produce 90.1 million iPhone 16 units this year based on supply chain component shipments. The report says that Apple will have 24.5 million iPhone 16 units built (27%), only 5.8 million iPhone 16 Plus units manufactured (6%), 26.6 million iPhone 16 Pro handsets produced (30%), and a leading 33.2 million units of the top-of-the-line iPhone 16 Pro Max assembled (37%).
The low number of iPhone 16 Plus models that Apple will create, at least initially, shows why it plans to replace the model with the iPhone 17 Air next year. The split between non-Pro and Pro models being fabricated will be 30.3 million and 59.8 million respectively which is a big boost to Apple as far as revenue is concerned. This means that 67% of the iPhone 16 models assembled in 2024 will be the iPhone 16 Pro series with the remaining 33% consisting of the iPhone 16 non-Pro models.
If rumors about pricing are correct, the iPhone 16 will start at $799, the iPhone 16 Plus will be priced at $899 and up, the iPhone 16 Pro starting price will get a $100 boost to $1,099 (although the minimum storage will rise to 256GB), and the iPhone 16 Pro Max will start at $1,199. So the only model getting a price change is the iPhone 16 Pro. But that model is adding the Tetraprism periscope lens which adds 5x optical zoom to the phone user’s bag of photographic tricks.
The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will also feature a new 48MP sensor for the ultra-wide camera and both will be powered by the 3nm A18 Pro application processor (AP). The iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus will also be equipped with a 3nm AP, the A18. Both non-Pro phones will get the Action button which activates a pre-selected task chosen by the device owner.
The iPhone 16 series is expected to be released on September 20th. Image credit-Apple
All four iPhone 16 phones will have 8GB of RAM so that all four can support Apple’s AI initiative, Apple Intelligence. They also will sport the new Capture button which will help focus the camera, trigger the shutter, and zoom in or zoom out on a scene.
We expect Apple to announce soon that the new product event introducing the iPhone 16 series, the new Apple Watch Series 10, Apple Watch Ultra 3, and Apple Watch SE 3, and two variants of the fourth-generation AirPods, will be held on September 10th. The new Apple Watch Series 10 will have a larger display and a thinner build. One version of the new AirPods will have basic features while the more expensive model will include Active Noise Cancellation. Both new AirPods models will use a redesigned carrying case with a USB-C port instead of the Lightning port.
After the September 10th event, we should see pre-orders for the new iPhone 16 line begin on September 13th with the phones getting released on September 20th.
