Investing.com — iPhone 16 resale costs on September 20, the primary day of cargo, have “collapsed inside the first three hours of buying and selling,” Jefferies revealed in a notice.
By round 1:30 PM, sellers within the Mongkok space had ceased buying iPhone 16 fashions, excluding the Professional Max in Desert coloration with 256GB storage, the funding financial institution famous.
The information contrasts sharply with final yr’s efficiency of the iPhone 15, the place the 15 Professional Max was nonetheless buying and selling at a 3%-34% premium 4 days after shipments started.
“This helps our cautious view on China demand,” Jefferies analysts wrote.
They clarify that Apple Inc’s (NASDAQ:) new iPhones commerce very similar to shares in Hong Kong throughout the first few weeks of shipments, as town hosts one of many world’s largest smartphone resale markets.
Sellers buy brand-new iPhones from customers at a premium and resell them in markets like China and Russia, the place demand typically exceeds provide. Nevertheless, with the launch of iPhone 16 right now, Jefferies notes it has been “one of many worst buying and selling days for a brand new iPhone.”
After the primary hour, the iPhone 16 Plus premium turned detrimental, which might not be too stunning. For the iPhone 16 Professional Max, all 4 colours initially opened with a premium of 15% to 24%, however inside two hours, that margin had shrunk to between 4% and 17%.
“One other 30 minutes later, most sellers in Mongkok stopped shopping for any iPhone 16 fashions, aside from 16PM in desert coloration and 256GB reminiscence (a couple of hundred HK$ premium),” analysts added.
Whereas the iPhone 16 Plus seemed to be offered out on official websites in each Hong Kong and China, analysts imagine there’s nonetheless inventory accessible on platforms in China, with supply occasions in Hong Kong at simply 10 days.
As such, they weren’t shocked to see the iPhone 16 Plus premium shrink shortly. Nevertheless, the shift from a premium to a reduction inside only one hour is notably worse than final yr, when it took 4 days for such a change.
Final yr, sure colours and reminiscence configurations, notably the 256GB fashions, have been nonetheless buying and selling at a premium 9 days after shipments started. The truth that even the Professional Max’s premium disappeared inside three hours this yr possible caught the market off guard.
Jefferies attributes the softer demand to a mix of things, together with an absence of serious {hardware} improvements and decrease trade-in values. It additionally factors out that offer for the iPhone 16 Professional Max is much less constrained this yr, as earlier digicam yield points have been resolved.
Wanting forward, the agency believes the upcoming launch of Apple’s AI providers within the U.S. subsequent month may probably drive a stronger wave of client demand.
