According to 9to5Google, the latest report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) indicates that the best selling Apple iPhone in the states during the third quarter was 2018’s
Apple iPhone XR. The “more-affordable” iPhone from last year was responsible for 36% of U.S. iPhone purchases between July-September, which happens to be the company’s fiscal fourth quarter of 2019. The model had the longest battery life of any iPhone
until it was supplanted by this year’s iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The new iPhones have reportedly been off to a strong start; earlier this month we told you that
Apple had reportedly hiked production orders by 10%. That report noted that while orders for the
iPhone 11 and
iPhone 11 Pro were increased, those for the top-of-the-line
iPhone 11 Pro Max were cut by a tad. Today we have some numerical proof of this strong demand for the new handsets. Despite being available for only two weeks out of the three month quarter, nearly 20% of iPhones purchased over that time period in the U.S. were one of the 2019 models. Breaking that down, the iPhone 11 (the new “more-affordable” unit) accounted for 9% of U.S. iPhone sales during the calendar third quarter while the iPhone 11 Pro was responsible for 6% and 4% of such sales came from purchases of the iPhone 11 Pro Max.
The weighted average selling price for iPhones sold in the quarter declined by 3% from last quarter
Looking at the 2019 iPhones alone, Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner, and Co-Founder said that the iPhone 11 accounted for 50% of the sales generated by the new models. That device starts at $699 for the 64GB model compared to the $749 that the 64GB iPhone XR sold for at launch last year. Lowitz points out that “Combined with
iPhone XR, which was similarly positioned in the line-up and shares many of the same features, these two models account for almost half of US iPhone sales in the quarter.”
2018’s iPhone XR was the best selling model in the states during the calendar third quarter
Meanwhile, the iPhone 11 Pro and the iPhone 11 Pro Max made up close to 10% of U.S. iPhone purchases during the three-month period. Combined with the models that those devices replaced in Apple’s line up (the discontinued
iPhone XS and
iPhone XS Max), these premium handsets were responsible for 21% of iPhone sales in the country from July through September. Those figures led Lowitz to say “iPhone customers…have a greater appetite for the historic flagship priced
phone, with fewer paying up for the new top-of-the-line models.”
Thanks to the success of the lower-priced iPhone 11, CIRP states that the weighted average selling price (known by the acronym WARP) for iPhone units sold in the states during the third quarter came to $783. In comparison, that figure amounted to $808 during the June 2019 quarter. The peak was reached during the three months that ended last December with the WARP coming in at $839 over that period.
The iPhone 11 features a 6.1-inch LCD display while the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max sport 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch AMOLED screens, respectively. All three phones are powered by the A13 Bionic chipset designed by Apple and manufactured by TSMC using its 7nm process. The iPhone 11 is equipped with a dual-camera set up (12MP wide + 12MP ultra-wide) while the “Pro” models add a 12MP telephoto camera with a 2x optical zoom. All three phones carry a 12MP FaceTime camera. Apple also has enhanced the water-resistant capabilities of the 2019 handsets as the iPhone 11 can survive being submerged to a depth of six and a half feet in water for as long as thirty minutes. The iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max can be submerged in water to as deep as 13 feet and survive for 30 minutes.
