Apple May Lean on iPhone XR to Juice Sales

In the United States, Apple's largest market, the iPhone XS and XS Max accounted for 16% of all iPhone sales in September, according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, which surveyed 500 customers who bought Apple products during this period. The iPhone8 and 8 Plus recorded the same percentage of sales during the same period of the previous year.

Apple declined to comment.

The results raise the stakes for the XR, which analysts say will be Apple's best-selling device in the coming year. To prevent iPhone shipments from slipping, the company needs the XR to boost iPhone sales in the same way that its more expensive predecessor, the X, had done a year ago.

Last year, Apple adopted a calibrated release schedule that initially dampened demand for versions 8 and 8 Plus, released in September 2017, at starting prices of $ 699 and $ 799 respectively, while many consumers were waiting for the release of the iPhone X at $ 999 in November. After the appearance of X stores, customers rated all three devices and iPhone sales accelerated, analysts said.

The 8 and 8 Plus combined 67.2 million units, while the X accounted for 59.8 million units during the nine-month period ended in June, according to Strategy Analytics, a firm market research.

This year, Apple has given priority to the release of the most expensive XS and XS Max. In September, the 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch devices were equipped with high-end features, such as a more accurate organic LED display and dual lens cameras. He has retained the XR, which features a traditional 6.1-inch LCD screen and a single camera, until this week.

Although this decision has boosted sales of these more expensive devices, which should allow to increase the total revenue of the iPhone compared to a year ago, the demand has not increased. not been strong enough to increase unit sales, said Mike Levin, co-founder of Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, a market research. strengthen. "The XR has to absorb a lot of demands, that's what will define success," he added.

On October 21, a month after their launch, the iPhone XS and XS Max together account for about 0.18% of the iPhones used in the world, according to a market study conducted by Localytics, which analyzes applications on 2.7 billion euros. # 39; devices. a controlled analysis of the models used. That was slightly less than the 0.78% share of the 8 and 8 Plus last year and just over a tenth of the share claimed by its predecessors in 2016.

Apple relies on the lower price of the XR and new colors such as yellow and coral will make it a hit with customers. The device has the same high-speed processors and the same facial recognition technology as its more expensive siblings. It has been hailed by tech critics, who have described it as the best quality / price that Apple has offered in recent years.

David Sedillo, a 28-year-old resident of the Los Angeles area, said the XR's features were convincing enough to allow him to order a black model last Friday. He opted for this device over the XS for the same reason that he had chosen an iPhone 8 Plus last year compared to the X: price.

"I can really live with a lower resolution screen and a single camera if that means I can save money and have more battery life," Sedillo said.

The combination of larger screens and a lower price should make the devices more appealing to Chinese consumers, who rely on smartphones to shop online, pay for products, play games, or stream video, and hesitate. in front of the high price of the recent models of Apple.

Apple has spent $ 5.1 million since Oct. 9 for TV advertising introducing the new phone, according to iSpotTV, an advertising tracking firm. He spent an additional $ 17.5 million on two ads promoting XS and XS Max.

But analysts say the features, criticisms and marketing efforts of the XR have not yet resulted in strong demand.

Apple started pre-orders for the XR last Friday. Delivery times, a tightly monitored demand barometer, reached 10 days in the United States and China after the first weekend, according to the Nomura Group's global equity research unit, comparable to the late iPhone 8 Plus from last year.

At a call with analysts Tuesday,

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Upgrade rates, which represent new iPhones and other devices sold, reached a record high in September. The company said the decline could further decline in December.

"This suggests that Apple will have difficulty growing the market significantly," said Nomura analyst Jeff Kvaal.

Write to Tripp Mickle at [email protected]