iPhone 16 Launch: Apple's AI Push Meets Mixed Customer Reactions

Apple iPhones aren't coming with AI software. Here's why it doesn't matter.

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Ron Witt, a San Francisco resident and loyal iPhone user who recently upgraded from an iPhone 15 Pro, told Business Insider that Apple Intelligence piqued his curiosity. "Excited isn't the right word," he said. "I think I'm more intrigued." For Witt, and many customers who spoke with BI, Apple Intelligence wasn't the main draw to upgrade. "It's always the camera for me," Witt said, adding that he's used an iPhone since the device launched 17 years ago. Another customer said that his phone was just too old. Some told BI that they were just serial upgraders. In New York, meanwhile, customers who lined up outside Apple's flagship Fifth Avenue Store included those who wanted to upgrade old phones and those who switch to the latest model every time they can. Saul Campos said he purchases a new iPhone annually, and this year was no different. "For the most part, I'm in it for the cameras because I take a lot of pictures, and they upgrade them every year," Campos told BI, noting he's excited for the Camera Control button, which allows users to slide their finger across it for camera controls -- zooming in, adjusting the focus, or pressing it to snap a photo or video. Outside Apple's flagship store in Manhattan on Friday, Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC that it's too early to speak on how the demand compares to last year but said that "everything is enthusiastic." Experts, too, said the excitement outside Apple stores this weekend was palpable. In a post on X on Friday, Mark Gurman, Bloomberg's resident Apple guru, wrote that "the lines this morning have been impressive." Despite the lines, the data shows that preorder sales took a hit this year -- possibly due to the absence of Apple Intelligence. Apple supply chain expert Ming-Chi Kuo, who analyzed data on first-weekend preorder sales, said they were down about 12.7% year-over-year compared to the iPhone 15 series' first-weekend sales. Kuo suspects two reasons for the dip. "One of the key factors for the lower-than-expected demand for the iPhone 16 Pro series is that the major selling point, Apple Intelligence, is not available at launch alongside the iPhone 16 release," he wrote in a post on Medium. Additionally, intense competition in the Chinese market continues to impact iPhone demand." BofA Global Research also found that all iPhone 16 models were experiencing shorter global shipping times than last year's iPhone 15 models, suggesting lower demand, Reuters reported. According to the report, the analysis looked at preorder data from three days after Apple made the new phones available for early purchase. The average global shipping time for the iPhone 16 was 7 days compared to 9 days for the iPhone 15. Shipping times for the 16 Pro Max were 11 days compared to 19 days for the 15 Pro Max. But Gil Luria, Apple analyst for D.A. Davidson, told Reuters that the early preorder data is negligible and surmised that, as the AI features are rolled out gradually, "the upgrade cycle will likely materialize over the next 12-18 months." The level of draw Apple Intelligence will have on customers is also in question. A survey published September 4 by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, which Techradar reported on, showed that 44% of respondents are upgrading because they feel their phone is "obsolete." Only 18% of respondents said they were upgrading for the "new features." Witt, the SF resident, told BI that he remembered the hype around the first iPhone years ago when he was in downtown San Francisco. Apple has since implemented an online ordering system that helps reduce long wait times, but overall, Witt said nothing compares to the excitement when the first iPhone was released. "It's much more tame now," Witt said. A spokesperson for Apple did not respond to a request for comment sent during the weekend.

Apple's new iPhone 16 just hit stores. Customers told us why they bought it.

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Akan Assylbekuly, who said he upgrades his phone every year, primarily for camera quality improvements, felt this year was no different: The new Camera Control button or upcoming Apple Intelligence features "doesn't matter" to him, but he got the 16 Pro Max because "the camera is improved." Saul Campos, who said he also purchases a new iPhone each year, got the new iPhone for the same reason. "For the most part, I'm in it for the cameras because I take a lot of pictures and they upgrade them every year," he said, noting he's excited for the Camera Control button. "For the most part, I'm in it for the cameras because I take a lot of pictures and they upgrade them every year," he said. One criticism of Apple's latest iPhone is that it's not much different than the iPhone 15. But Analie Cruz, a self-proclaimed "early adopter" of tech, doesn't see it that way. "To me, it is still a big change, going from 6.1" to 6.3" on the 15 Pro to the 16 Pro and actually adding something on the phone itself," she said, referring to the phones' screen sizes and the Camera Control button. "I'm pretty into tech things, so bells and whistles will get me." Cruz writes for a tech publication, but said that she wasn't at the Apple store as a member of the media. She said she ordered and picked up her device because she wanted to experience it first-hand. "I wanted to see what the new Camera Control button is about," Cruz, said. "I've tried other AI so I also wanted to see how Apple's works. I'm excited to try it out." Film director RD Alba, who shoots with iPhones, says the changes in the iPhone 16 might seem relatively minor but "Apple Intelligence will go a long way." "Tech now is so much better they can't really invent something big so it's really more of the software," he said. Alba, who also lined up for the first iPhone in 2007, got to the Apple store before 6 a.m. Friday and took a selfie with Apple CEO Tim Cook, who usually visits the Apple flagship store on iPhone launch days, to much fanfare. This year, Cook also shot a video outside the flagship store with "The Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon, who was seen wearing the Apple Vision Pro headset. One new iPhone 16 owner, Sven Korać, marks a return to the iPhone with his purchase. He said he had an iPhone years ago but has most recently used the Huawei P30 Pro. Korać came back to Apple, however, after consulting with friends and finding that "looking at the cameras, they seemed a lot better over the years." Korać, visiting from Croatia, said his first time in line for a new iPhone was "crazy." "Everyone was clapping when the store opened, saying 'Tim is here,'" he said. "I have no idea who Tim Cook is."

Apple's iPhone 16 has officially arrived in stores

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now. Have an account? Log in. Still, there's been much excitement about the improvements to the basic iPhone 16, which comes in some saturated new colors and is getting two new buttons -- the Camera Control and an Action button. In Singapore's flagship Apple store in Orchard, the city's central shopping district, the scene had the hallmarks of Apple's product launches: countdowns to store opening, long queues outside the store, and store employees cheering for the first batch of customers as they walk in. Queues began at 4 a.m. and were split into pre-order pickups and walk-in orders. The store opened at 8 a.m. When Business Insider visited the outlet at 9 a.m., there were about 300 people in line for walk-in orders. By 9 a.m., the store was surrounded by resellers who had purchased two iPhones -- the maximum you can pre-order -- and were looking to buy more from those who bought spares. Many of these resellers traveled to Singapore from Vietnam and Sri Lanka, where Apple does not have official stores, or from India, where Apple has two stores. Some people carried between eight to 12 merchandise bags and came with carry-on suitcases to transport the iPhones back home. BI spoke to a Singaporean couple in their mid-20s, who said this was their first time attending an Apple launch day. They had pre-ordered the iPhone 16 for themselves and their friends. They kept two phones but sold off the remaining to buyers who approached them on the street. The Singaporean shopper said he flipped each extra phone to a Vietnamese group for a profit of 150 Singapore dollars, or $116, a piece. He took a leave from work to pick up his order at 8 a.m. "There's not so much profit from this, it was more for fun," he said. Another iPhone enthusiast who spoke to BI said he has been attending launch days since 2011, even before the Orchard flagship store opened in 2017. He said he updates his iPhone every year. He said the crowd on Friday was slightly more muted than it has been in the past. He said he hopes Apple designs a flip phone similar to those being produced by Samsung and Huawei, so he can have an "iPad in his pocket." A lot is riding on this launch for Apple. iPhone sales slipped year-on-year in Q3, and analysts have said an AI-powered smartphone could be the game changer Apple needs to see revenue bounce back. However, pre-orders over the past weekend were estimated to be about 13% lower than with the iPhone 15 -- primarily due to the slower rollout of AI features as well as competition in China. Apple has successfully generated hype around its upcoming software, but today could indicate whether it can back it up with initial hardware sales.