Apple is reducing the prices of its latest iPhones in Australia but not in the United States, as it introduces new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models.
The new devices, which the company said would be available from Friday, 20 September, will see a drop in price of up to $100 compared to last year’s iPhone 15 lineup.
The standard iPhone 16 would start at $1,399 in Australia with a base storage of 128GB, Apple said on Tuesday.
That is a $100 drop from last year’s iPhone 15, which began at $1,499 with the same base storage.
The larger Plus variant of the iPhone 16, as well as both the Pro and Pro Max variants, will see $50 price drops compared to last year.
The iPhone 16 Plus will start at $1,599, down from $1,649 in 2023.
The iPhone 16 Pro will start at $1,799, down from $1,849 last year.
The larger iPhone 16 Pro Max will now start at $2,149 with the same 256GB base storage as last year’s iPhone 15 Pro Max, which started at $2,199.
In the US, the standard iPhone 16 would remain at $US799 ($1,200), while iPhone 16 Pro would start at $US999 ($1,500), Apple said.
Alvin Lee, a senior analyst with Australian firm Telsyte, said local price reductions for the iPhone 16 were likely influenced by exchange rates, with “some consideration” also given to economic conditions in Australia.
“Apple has maintained its position as the top smartphone seller in Australia in the last seven years,” he told Information Age.
“Strong ecosystem integration and customer retention have contributed to iPhone’s industry-leading repeat purchase rate in Australia, which has consistently reached 85 per cent or higher since 2020, according to Telsyte measurements.”
Pre-orders for the iPhone 16 line would begin at 10pm AEST on Friday, 13 September, Apple said.
Both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro will feature a new dedicated Camera Control haptic button, along with improvements to their cameras and processors.
The iPhone 15, 14, and SE models will remain in the company’s lineup at lower prices.
iPhone 16 missing Apple Intelligence at launch
Apple announced its artificial intelligence platform Apple Intelligence at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, but confirmed today that the features would not be available on its new devices when they launch in late September.
CEO Tim Cook said during Tuesday’s announcement that Apple’s new generation of iPhones had been “designed for Apple Intelligence from the ground up”, but the company confirmed beta versions of “the first set of Apple Intelligence features” would be released via a free software update in October.
The first group of Apple Intelligence features will launch in beta in October. Image: Apple / Supplied
Apple confirmed a redesigned version of its Siri personal assistant and AI writing tools would be included in the first set of features released, but it was unclear if any other systems would be included.
The first batch of Apple Intelligence features will be included in iOS 18.1 for iPhone, iPadOS 18.1 for iPad, and macOS Sequoia 15.1 for Macs.
Further features would be “rolling out in the months to come”, Apple said.
The company previously announced other features for Apple Intelligence such as AI audio transcription (including on phone calls), AI photo editing, and the ability to generate personalised emoji and some stylised images.
Apple Intelligence would only be available on iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro devices, as well as the iPhone 15 Pro and iPads and Macs with M1 chips or later, Apple said.
While Apple Intelligence would initially only work in US English, the company confirmed “additional languages and platforms are coming over the course of the next year”, including support for Australian English some time in 2024.
Analyst Tom Mainelli, group vice president at IDC, said Apple had placed “a great deal of emphasis on the promise of future AI capabilities on its new iPhone lineup”.
“While many of the new features will arrive later this year, the geographic scope will be limited, which could impact the company’s ability to drive a worldwide buying cycle,” he said.
IDC forecast in August that Apple would see 4 per cent year-over-year growth in 2025 thanks to Apple Intelligence, following relatively flat 0.8 per cent growth in 2024.
It said Apple was facing “increasing competition in China” and needed to establish local AI partnerships in that country while also demonstrating AI use cases to consumers worldwide.
Apple’s Tuesday event also saw the announcement of new AirPods models and the Apple Watch Series 10, which the company said would come with a sleep apnea detection feature that was awaiting regulatory approval in the US.
It was unclear if the feature would come to watches sold in Australia and the feature was not mentioned in the local press release announcing Apple Watch Series 10.
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