Every tenth Apple smartphone sold this year will be the “budget” iPhone 16e

The recently introduced Apple iPhone 16e will be the brand’s most affordable smartphone with Apple Intelligence support, and this in itself will provide a good sales market. Citi Research analysts believe that the new budget model will account for 10% of iPhone sales in the current calendar year.

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Total iPhone sales this year will reach 238 million units, according to Citi Research. That means the iPhone 16e will account for about 24 million units. Next year, iPhone sales of all models will grow by 5% to 250 million units. In China, the iPhone 16e allows buyers to count on receiving a government subsidy. The model’s classification as part of the iPhone 16 series suggests that Apple is emphasizing support for artificial intelligence functions in terms of its notation system.

In China, Apple will partner with Alibaba to implement its advanced artificial intelligence features, and such localization should help boost the popularity of the iPhone 16 series smartphones. Apple’s position in the smartphone market has sagged in the past year, falling out of the top five players in China for the first time in the second quarter, but has returned to it after the debut of the iPhone 16 family.