Supply chain sources indicate that following the reveal of the new AI platform Apple Intelligence at the WWDC in June and the announcement that it will be integrated into the iPhone 16 series of products, the market anticipates that it will fuel a new wave of device upgrades.
This, coupled with increased iPhone sales during China's 618 e-commerce promotion, has boosted Apple's sales expectations for the iPhone 16 series and reportedly prompted an increase in their 2024 stock target to 90 million units.
According to reports from IT Home and Zhitong Caijing, in addition to Apple raising its stock target, Apple's main manufacturing partner Foxconn has also initiated peak season hiring. This includes large-scale recruitment at its Zhengzhou Airport Economic Zone and Shenzhen Longhua sites.
The hourly wage at the Zhengzhou factory has been raised to CNY25, which, although still lower than the peak shortage period wage of over CNY30 per hour, is relatively high compared to general factory production line wages. However, most production lines at the Longhua site still have an hourly wage of around CNY21.
Recent reports suggest that Apple's next-gen iPhone 16 could trigger a new wave of device upgrades. Besides the aforementioned Apple Intelligence function requiring an A17 Pro or higher chipset (i.e., iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max, and above) for support, there are also reports that the entire iPhone 16 series will be fully equipped with the A18 chipset, manufactured by TSMC's 3nm process. This is expected to bring performance upgrades and an overall increase in memory capacity.
Additionally, it is reported that the standard iPhone 16 model will add two new physical buttons. The first is the "action button," already available on the iPhone 15 Pro, which can be customized for a quick function shortcut. The other button is the brand-new "capture" button specifically designed for photography.
Market research firm Counterpoint Research previously reported that during the month-long 618 promotion period (May 20 to June 20), smartphone sales in China increased by 6.8% year-on-year. Besides Huawei leading with a 42.4% year-on-year sales increase, Apple's iPhone sales also grew by 2.7%, partly due to discounts of up to CNY2,350 (approx. US$326) in response to Huawei's competition in the high-end smartphone market.
Market research firm TechInsights also estimated that during the 618 period, the top three smartphone brands by sales volume in China were Apple, Xiaomi, and Honor. In terms of sales revenue, the top three were Apple, Xiaomi, and Huawei.
