Apple’s June-quarter earnings call put hard numbers behind what analysts have tracked for months: iPhone 16 popularity is running well ahead of last year’s iPhone 15 family. Tim Cook told investors the new lineup “has delivered the highest June-quarter install growth we have ever recorded,” with sales up “strong double digits”, a performance that helped Apple reach 94 billion dollars in revenue and 23.4 billion dollars in profit, with gross margin climbing to 46.2 percent despite a volatile currency backdrop.
Independent data backs up Cook’s statement. Consumer Intelligence Research Partners estimates that the four iPhone 16 models accounted for 38 percent of all US iPhone sales between April and June; by comparison, iPhone 15 captured only 31 percent of sales over the same portion of its life-cycle last year. The Pro Max leads the mix, reflecting a clear shift toward higher-tier storage configurations and boosting the average selling price by roughly 78 dollars year over year. Apple also confirmed that nearly half of its iPhone 16 customers upgraded from handsets at least four years old, a window that lines up with the end of most carrier instalment plans.
Pricing strategy helped as well. Average selling price rose to a record 968 dollars, yet Apple’s aggressive trade-in offers kept the entry cost stable at 599 dollars for customers handing in an iPhone 12 Pro. Cook noted that some buyers accelerated purchases ahead of potential autumn tariff adjustments and said Apple shifted additional production to India and Vietnam to mitigate geopolitical risk, preventing the back-order queues that plagued the early iPhone 15 Pro Max launch.
Looking to the September quarter, Apple issued cautious guidance of “flat to slight” revenue growth, citing currency headwinds and tariff uncertainty. Even so, analysts expect another beat if iPhone 16 demand holds. Cook teased additional AI capabilities arriving in iOS 18.2, suggesting the company will continue to add value to existing hardware and encourage late-cycle upgrades.
With iPhone 16 popularity already outpacing its predecessor, Apple moves into the holiday season armed with stronger hardware sales, a broader Services funnel, and clear evidence that meaningful feature upgrades—especially in camera, battery, and connectivity—still motivate users to replace aging devices.
