I'm not saying you're wrong, I would just love to see some actual numbers and official stats showing the breakdown and was hoping I was missing it somewhere.
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iPhone 17 Demand Is Breaking Apple's Sales Records
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I'm not saying you're wrong, I would just love to see some actual numbers and official stats showing the breakdown and was hoping I was missing it somewhere.
Well said.
Working in a very large company that replaces users iPhones every two years, this is the year.
Looking across the landscape, those admitted narcissists, chose the safety cone orange colored Pro or Pro Max model to show off to their friends and family.
Apple knows their customers well and understands that many have their self esteem attached to the phone they carry, the car they drive, and who they’re seen with.
The Cupertino company are master marketers.
Exactly, the waiting time alone can be misleading, because it doesn't tell how many phones Apple has been producing for each model.I'm not saying you're wrong, I would just love to see some actual numbers and official stats showing the breakdown and was hoping I was missing it somewhere.
Just to make an example: if they had produced 45% of Air, 35% of Pros and 20% of base models, and instead the demand was 33.3% for each model, you would see waiting time for the base model only. It doesn't mean that the base is driving the sale.
Mind you, it is very likely that it is the best-seller, but you can't tell how much from just looking at the waiting times.
It's a company phone, so I get what I get. Next year, I'll be upgraded to the 16e or 17e; whatever is available.
I talked to IT about it and they basically told me to deal with it until they approve 26.2.
Geniuses said the same when they finally switched to USB-C, which was literally the biggest upgrade ever to me on an iPhone. No more friggin' cables to bring everywhere I go, just USB-C for everything, for my laptop, my headphones, even for my hiking headlamp. Such a QoL improvement.
have a heart.... do people not care about the Apple executives and employees who need to handle billions of extra profit? they are working day and night trying to handle all that money.... let them have a break!
No, they aren't. The S25 Ultra is more expensive than the 17 Pro Max; sale discounts notwithstanding. And Android is not that much more open and customizable than iOS at this point; in fact, since Android 9, Google has been actively locking down more aspects of the operating system. The only things Android have above iOS at this point is icon packs and custom launchers (and in some cases, the ability to set a custom system font); features that the vast majority of Android users don't even use. Aside from those features, iOS is on a level playing field with Android at this point, and in some cases even goes above Android. And sure, Android is open source, but 99% of the population don't care about that. The biggest reason people go the Android route is because its all they can afford, especially in developing countries and countries with lower incomes per person compared to the western world; hence the popularity of WhatsApp in those countries.
You're entitled to your opinion of course, but saying Android is more open and customizable is just disingenious and mostly untrue at this point.
I just upgraded from a 12 Pro Max to a 17 Pro and your decision is a mistake.
The 17 Pro is easily my favorite iPhone yet (and I LOVED the 4). Feels incredible, screen is fantastic, battery life is even better than the 12 Pro Max (even with 100% capacity) by a mile. With the Pro Max I’d leave work with 58% left. With the 17 Pro I left today with 78%. That’s just insane for a smaller device (I realize the battery is larger). All that with the AOD on and it being much faster. Like a LOT faster on iOS 26. Your 6 year old device is the issue, not iOS 26.
I doubt the technical improvements that make the base 17 one of the best values around are driving most of the sales in China. It matters to a minority of tech aware consumers, which can tell the difference (like 120hz vs 60hz) but most likely not the target market or majority of base buyers. Having the largest middle class in the world, even single digit marketshare, would mean a ton of unit sales. It's all quite fascinating though given the anti China rhetoric of the current administration. Also, "7" is considered a very unlucky number in China where numerology is still a consideration by many. So it's all a surprise. I'd love for a member, with ears to the ground in China currently, to provide some insight.
The S25 ultra is now way cheaper than the 17 pro, let alone the pro max. I have seen it as low as $750. And yes discounts matter and they virtually absent on iPhone. The ultra is more expensive only for the first couple of months.
I got the 17 pro simply because I can't stant the huge ultra, but Samsung OneUI is clearly above iOS for me. AI photo editing is not even close, one handed gestures are way better on OneUI, notifications are much worse on iPhone and the photo app is garbage.
I got the iPhone for the hardware and for the camera, and to a lesser extend for compatibility with other Apple devices. But I wish I could have OneUI on it. And I don't care about customization or even multitasking (something OneUI is miles ahead, but for me it doesn't matter and I do that on a laptop/desktop).
16 had a **** battery, smaller screen, no promotion display, and started at 128gb.
It's the first actual meaningful leap for the base model this decade. And let's not forget, most importantly, the sage and mist are the best green and blue iphones ever released, respectively.
You're forgetting one thing. The Pro Max would cost $300 more than a hypothetical 17/18 Plus. Value for money is the key driver, not a straight spec shootout for most buyers.
Yet actual sales report as quite good, proving that individual anecdotal observations mean about zero, as expected.
Yup. I have the same problem sometimes. It is irritating.
Honestly if you had A 16 Pro Max, sure but if you where coming from a 14 or below i think it was worth it, YMMV.
It’s an expensive endeavor to create a new, not in the pipeline, shell and cram the things the new versions of phones have. The e series is their small phone concept balancing what is needed in modern smartphones with size (even if it’s far larger than a mini, that’s kinda the point). Just the cameras alone now take up more space.
I think it is interesting that people are trying to explain the surge in sales by technical reasons and value propositions. I view this differently, from a market-cycle perspective.
The mean upgrade interval for phones is ~3 years.
From 2016 to 2019 (pre-COVID years), the average number of units sold was 213M, with 2019 being the lowest at 186M.
In 2020 (first COVID year), sales started to trend up, from 186M in 2019 to 206M in 2020.
From 2021 to 2022 (peak-COVID years), the average number of units was 230M (235M in 2021, 225M in 2022). Sales spiked because people had cabin fever and were interacting with their phones as their primary social medium.
Sales in 2023 (first year post-COVID) were lower than the pre-COVID average at 203M. Fewer people needed new phones because a disproportionately higher number had upgraded during COVID. [Note: 2020 vs. 2023 is 206M vs 203M. About what you would expect from the upgrade cycle time.]
Sales in 2024 (second year post COVID), sales went back up to 220M units. This is exactly what you would expect to see given a three-year mean upgrade cycle. Vs. 2021 sales of 235M, upgrades were lagging a bit. People still had functional COVID-era phones.
Sales this year are spiking further because we are now three years out from the record sales during the COVID years. I'm sure this is why Apple has been so confident about their sales numbers even while Apple-negative MacRumors-forum pundits have predicted bad sales for every reason under the sun except market cycles.
The mean upgrade interval for phones is ~3 years.
From 2016 to 2019 (pre-COVID years), the average number of units sold was 213M, with 2019 being the lowest at 186M.
In 2020 (first COVID year), sales started to trend up, from 186M in 2019 to 206M in 2020.
From 2021 to 2022 (peak-COVID years), the average number of units was 230M (235M in 2021, 225M in 2022). Sales spiked because people had cabin fever and were interacting with their phones as their primary social medium.
Sales in 2023 (first year post-COVID) were lower than the pre-COVID average at 203M. Fewer people needed new phones because a disproportionately higher number had upgraded during COVID. [Note: 2020 vs. 2023 is 206M vs 203M. About what you would expect from the upgrade cycle time.]
Sales in 2024 (second year post COVID), sales went back up to 220M units. This is exactly what you would expect to see given a three-year mean upgrade cycle. Vs. 2021 sales of 235M, upgrades were lagging a bit. People still had functional COVID-era phones.
Sales this year are spiking further because we are now three years out from the record sales during the COVID years. I'm sure this is why Apple has been so confident about their sales numbers even while Apple-negative MacRumors-forum pundits have predicted bad sales for every reason under the sun except market cycles.
The base 17 is decent. Finally a phone with the basics people want. Who would have thought that having a decent screen refresh rate and good cameras would make a great phone ! /s
The rest 17pro lineup.. fugly and heavy.
The air .. unloved generally and niche. (Thanks to the 17base being so good).
The ios26 beta put me off staying with iphone so I switched to Android (has worked out very well) but if I were coming back I'd get a base 17 over the pros any day.
The rest 17pro lineup.. fugly and heavy.
The air .. unloved generally and niche. (Thanks to the 17base being so good).
The ios26 beta put me off staying with iphone so I switched to Android (has worked out very well) but if I were coming back I'd get a base 17 over the pros any day.