Apple (AAPL) Makes an Interesting Gamble on the iPhone 16e, and It’s All About China

By Austin Smith Published Mar 4, 10:51AM EST

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Apple (AAPL) Makes an Interesting Gamble on the iPhone 16e, and It’s All About China — © 24/7 Wall St

24/7 Wall St. Key Points:

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL | AAPL Price Prediction) launched the lower-priced iPhone 16E to regain market share in China, where high costs have hindered competitiveness against local brands.
Despite lackluster sales of the iPhone 16, the 16E includes core AI features, positioning it as a value-driven option in both China and price-sensitive global markets.
Success in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, could significantly boost Apple’s overall sales, making quarterly delivery data a key metric for investors.
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Transcript:

[00:00:04] Doug McIntyre: So Lee, Apple’s made an interesting gamble. They’ve come out with a much less expensive iPhone 16. They have. Called the E. This is my understanding of why they did it. They are too expensive in China. They may pick up some extra sales in the United States and Europe. I understand that, but it appears that the reason they’ve lost a lot of ground in China isn’t just because Those are China based companies, but because there’s a price difference, the people in China don’t want to pay the premium.

[00:00:36] Doug McIntyre: So to me, this is a China play by Apple. If it works, it’s huge news because China is weak for Apple. China is the largest smartphone market by far in the world. It’s a billion smartphones. The United States is 300 million. So it’s 3x the U S so if I’m an Apple shareholder, I want to keep an eye on the reports that come out every quarter about market share in China by the five largest providers there.

[00:01:09] Doug McIntyre: They’re called deliveries. They’re not even called sales. So, apparently there’s something that happens before the sale. But, this may be the decision that bails Apple stock out more than the launch of the six expensive AI nonsense, really super expensive iPhone.

[00:01:29] Lee Jackson: Well, yeah, and from what I read, the apple chip is in there, the, similar to the one that’s in the 16.

[00:01:36] Lee Jackson: Yeah. And 16 sales weren’t that great, and I mean, they’re good, I guess they’re okay. And as you go up the ladder. And you can still get a deal you got. We did it with ours. My wife and I traded in our 14. And so we got, you ostensibly get about half off. You can get about half off on anybody, but you can get even more off if you trade in a 14 or whatever.

[00:02:00] Lee Jackson: But yeah, I mean, they want to be competitive there. And apparently the E will run all of the AI functions that are on the 16. So maybe you’re right. maybe it’s like the loss leader that they need to save their China, sales quotas and percentages.

About the Author Austin Smith →

Austin Smith is a financial publisher with over two decades of experience in the markets. He spent over a decade at The Motley Fool as a senior editor for Fool.com, portfolio advisor for Millionacres, and launched new brands in the personal finance and real estate investing space.

His work has been featured on Fool.com, NPR, CNBC, USA Today, Yahoo Finance, MSN, AOL, Marketwatch, and many other publications. Today he writes for 24/7 Wall St and covers equities, REITs, and ETFs for readers. He is as an advisor to private companies, and co-hosts The AI Investor Podcast.

When not looking for investment opportunities, he can be found skiing, running, or playing soccer with his children. Learn more about me here.