The iPhone 16 may have gotten off to a better start than some analysts had expected - at least if we judge from the sales figures Apple announced for the last quarter of the current fiscal year.For the three months ended September 28, Apple recorded a year-over-year increase in iPhone sales, but but it is clear that a portion of that increase was due to the September launch of the iPhone 16.

Indeed, the iPhone 16 was launched on September 20, so Apple's new model was only recorded for one week in the September quarter. However, the $46.2 billion in iPhone sales recorded in the three-month period was the highest-ever iPhone sales for the September quarter, up 6% from the same period last year.

More importantly, for Apple, iPhone sales turned up again this past quarter. In the June and March quarters of the current fiscal year, iPhone sales fell 1% and 10%, respectively, as the June quarter was affected by unfavorable exchange rates and the March quarter saw sluggish sales growth due to supply chain issues the previous year. However, Apple's iPhone sales grew again, no doubt thanks to the launch of the iPhone 16.

“The iPhone's active installed base, in aggregate and across all geographic segments, hit a new record high,” said Apple's outgoing CFO Luca Maestri on his last conference call with Wall Street analysts. 'In the September quarter, many iPhone models were the top-selling smartphones worldwide. In fact, according to a survey by [marketing data firm] Kantar, the iPhone was the top seller in the US, urban China, the UK, Australia, and Japan.

Since Apple does not categorize sales into specific products, it is difficult to say how much of an impact one week of iPhone 16 sales had on the company's quarterly results. Still, it is hard to believe that customers purchased the iPhone 15 model late and set a record for Apple iPhone sales. speaking to CNBC, Apple CEO Tim Cook said that iPhone 15 sales were stronger than iPhone 14 sales in the same period last year. He also noted that iPhone 16 sales were also stronger than iPhone 15 sales in the same period last year.

Leading up to today's (October 31) earnings call, some analysts had predicted light demand for the iPhone 16, citing Apple's reduced orders from suppliers for the new model. We will get a more complete picture in January, when the company reports its holiday sales, including the first full quarter of iPhone 16 numbers.

Apple seems relatively optimistic about the outlook for the holiday sales season, although it expects December sales to be in the low to mid single digits. We have our best lineup yet for the holiday season, including Apple Intelligence, and it's the start of a new chapter for our products,” Cook told analysts at Apple's earnings call.

“This is just the beginning of what we believe generative AI can do, and we couldn't be more excited about what's to come.”

Apple provided a few more details about the timeline for the rollout of Apple Intelligence after the release of iOS 18.1 this week brought the first batch of Apple AI tools to compatible iPhones. (iOS 18.2, which was released as a developer beta last week, is expected to be released in December, Cook said. That update brings Visual Intelligence capabilities to the iPhone 16 and also provides generative image creation tools in the form of Image Playground and Genmoji.

The December update also localized English language support for Apple Intelligence features in the UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. Support for other languages will be available for Apple Intelligence by April 2025.

Apple posted record sales in September, with total sales up 6% overall to $94.9 billion. This was boosted by record revenue from its services division, which rose 12% to $22.1 billion.