iPhone 16 goes on sale in Taiwan

Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) Apple Inc.'s iPhone 16 officially hit the shelves in Taiwan on Friday.

At a launch event in Taipei, Chunghwa Telecom Chairman Kuo Shui-yi (郭水義) said sales of Apple's first generative AI-powered smartphone were expected to surpass those of the iPhone 15.

In addition, users of older models are likely to upgrade to the iPhone 16, Kuo said.

Despite reports of lackluster international pre-orders, Kuo asserted that pre-orders for the iPhone 16 in Taiwan were robust.

The sales of iPhone 16 in Taiwan are expected to result in "the largest wave of iPhone upgrades since the launch of 5G," he added.

Based on the figures from the past two weeks, there are concerns that demand for the Pro series is far greater than supply at the company's stores, "making shortages inevitable," according to Chunghwa Telecom.

Chunghwa Telecom said it was working closely with Apple to resolve the potential issue.

The new iPhone 16 series features four models: the 6.1-inch iPhone 16, the 6.7-inch iPhone 16 Plus, the 6.3-inch iPhone 16 Pro and the 6.9-inch iPhone 16 Pro Max.

Prices for the iPhone 16 start at NT$29,900 (US$937), while the iPhone 16 Plus's starting price has been set at NT$32,900. The high-end iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max costs NT$36,900 and NT$44,900, respectively.

It is the first iPhone lineup equipped with Apple Intelligence, an artificial intelligence application introduced at Apple's 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference in June.

As most Taiwanese purchase smartphones through contracts bundled with telecom services, it is expected that a majority of iPhone 16 will be sold by Taiwan's three major telecom companies: Chunghwa Telecom, Taiwan Mobile and Far EasTone.

The first person in line to buy an iPhone 16 at Chunghwa Telecom's Taipei Eastern District Service Center was a man surnamed Lai (賴), an employee at a screen protection wrapping company.

He got the spot through an online lottery system set up by Chunghwa Telecom and aims to purchase five iPhone 16 Pro Maxs.

Meanwhile, a man surnamed Hsu (徐) secured the first spot in line at the Apple Xinyi A13 store in Taipei's Xinyi District for the second consecutive year. He also plans to buy an iPhone 16 Pro Max, his 13th.