Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

iPhone X Remained World's Most Popular Smartphone Last Quarter Despite Concerns About Poor Sales

Those numbers are good but not as great as likely hoped for. They could even be called lacklustre. The iPhone X sold 16.5 million units in 2018 Q1. That means that in the one year ago quarter, the iPhone 7 and the lower selling iPhone 7 Plus both easily outsold the iPhone X this quarter.

The iPhone 7 sold 21.5 million units in 2017 Q1, and the iPhone 7 Plus sold 17.4 million units. Total for those two models 38.9 million in 2017 Q1.

In contrast for the three models in 2018 Q1, they sold 36.8 million units. ie. Three new models in 2018 Q1 instead of two new models in 2017 Q1, and they still sold less units in 2018 Q1 than 2017 Q1.

In other words, don't get fooled by the way the numbers are framed. These numbers IMO do in fact make sense in the context of the industry articles out there about the iPhone X and lower demand than expected for OLED screens, etc.

The good news for Apple though is the iPhone X is so bloody expensive, it made for good revenue. However, if the iPhone whateveritis in fall 2018 is as comparatively expensive as iPhone X, I won't be buying one even though my wife needs a new phone. Maybe I'll just get the rumoured 6.1" LCD model for myself and pass on my 7 Plus to my wife, or else I'll just keep my 7 Plus and get a smaller LCD model for the wife. (I've typically just bought the latest top of the line model, but the iPhone X is the first one where I've said it just costs too much money.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: mech986, mingravity, deuxani and 2 others
Apple stock is up almost 3% this morning, now close to its 52-week high. Yet just a couple days ago after earnings some clown on CNBC was talking down the company and the stock being well off it’s highs. :rolleyes:
 
sblemmy said:
What’s the benchmark of a good product? How well it sells against the competition? Or how well it sells against Wall Street’s prediction?

This is why I think T. Cook is right not to focus on the stock price. Stock prices rely too heavily on analyst predictions and assumptions.
Click to expand...
wall street expections are just not realistic at all in this market. They have high expections just so apple can't match them
 
  • Like
Reactions: mech986 and alllexx
pete2106 said:
I'm just going off the data in the article. The 8 placed higher than the 8 plus and the 7 is on the chart where the 7 plus isn't even in the list. I always thought that people loved the bigger screens more but the data here would suggest that that's not the case any more.
Click to expand...
Apple has said a few times that the bigger phones sell more in Asian countries and the European/Western countries tend to not want to spend the extra money for the bigger screen so most opt for the mid sized device.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mech986
Quick someone: send this story (back) to Apple. Rumors are heavy that this best seller is going to be the first iPhone in many years to be discontinued less than 1 year after it's release.

Note: that's not putting down the phone or Apple (certainly no cut at "Apple is doomed" either for those that blow posts out of proportion)- just pointing out a conflicting-but-popular rumor that needs to be mentally reconciled with this kind of story. If it's so very popular, why is Apple killing it less than 1 year after release? And what was the last iPhone that Apple killed <1 year after it's release?

Proactive disclosure to the ADF: I purchased one of these myself.
 
EugW said:
Those numbers are good but not as great as likely hoped for. They could even be called lacklustre. The iPhone X sold 16.5 million units in 2018 Q1. That means that in the one year ago quarter, the iPhone 7 and the lower selling iPhone 7 Plus both easily outsold the iPhone X this quarter.

The iPhone 7 sold 21.5 million units in 2017 Q1, and the iPhone 7 Plus sold 17.4 million units. Total for those two models 38.9 million in 2017 Q1.

In contrast for the three models in 2018 Q1, they sold 36.8 million units. ie. Three new models in 2018 Q1 instead of two new models in 2017 Q1, and they still sold less units in 2018 Q1 than 2017 Q1.

In other words, don't get fooled by the way the numbers are framed. These numbers IMO do in fact make sense in the context of the industry articles out there about the iPhone X and lower demand than expected for OLED screens, etc.

The good news for Apple though is the iPhone X is so bloody expensive, it made for good revenue. However, if the iPhone whateveritis in fall 2018 is as comparatively expensive as iPhone X, I won't be buying one even though my wife needs a new phone. Maybe I'll just get the rumoured 6.1" LCD model for myself and pass on my 7 Plus to my wife, or else I'll just keep my 7 Plus and get a smaller LCD model for the wife. (I've typically just bought the latest top of the line model, but the iPhone X is the first one where I've said it just costs too much money.)
Click to expand...

Entry price point was a barrier to most - hence the lower numbers as the people with the 7 (even 6s) are quite content with their devices.
 
EugW said:
The iPhone 7 sold 21.5 million units in 2017 Q1, and the iPhone 7 Plus sold 17.4 million units. Total for those two models 38.9 million in 2017 Q1.

In contrast for the three models in 2018 Q1, they sold 36.8 million units. ie. Three new models in 2018 Q1 instead of two new models in 2017 Q1, and they still sold less units in 2018 Q1 than 2017 Q1.
Click to expand...

Same article from last year:
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/05/10/iphone-most-popular-smartphone-q1-2017/

Last year, the iPhone 7 sold 34% more phones than the iPhone X.

Even the iPhone 7 Plus sold 10% more phones then then the iPhone X.

Spin it as you wish, but the sales speak for themselves, the iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus were all failures.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mingravity
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Quick someone send this story (back) to Apple. Rumors are heavy that this best seller is going to be the first iPhone in many years to be discontinued less than 1 year after it's release.

Note: that's not putting down the phone or Apple (certainly no cut at "Apple is doomed" either for those that blow posts out of proportion)- just pointing out a conflicting-but-popular rumor that needs to be mentally reconciled with this kind of story. If it's so very popular, why is Apple killing it less than 1 year after release? And what was the last iPhone that Apple killed <1 year after it's release?

Proactive disclosure to the ADF: I purchased one of these myself.
Click to expand...
Because it's likely too expensive to be relegated to a 2nd tier model.

Think iPhone 5 vs 5C. They are essentially the same phone, but the 5C is cheaper to produce. When the 5S came out instead of keeping the iPhone 5 around as a 2nd tier model to the flagship 5S, they created an entirely new cheaper model to sell.

DipDog3 said:
Same article from last year:
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/05/10/iphone-most-popular-smartphone-q1-2017/

Last year, the iPhone 7 sold 34% more phones than the iPhone X.

Even the iPhone 7 Plus sold 10% more phones then then the iPhone X.

Spin it as you wish, but the sales speak for themselves, the iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus were all failures.
Click to expand...
I am hopeful but not confident that they will drop the pricing of the flagship iPhones this year a little bit.
 
Those numbers just don't add up with Apple's own revenue report. Assuming average per unit revenue of $1,050 for an X and base price only for the other models you get the reported 42.4 million units sold generating $35.2 billion in revenue for an ASP of $830 per phone. That is way higher than Apple's on reported ASP of $728. The overall ASP would need to be dragged down by over $100 by the remaining sales. Let's see how that would work.

The remaining 9.8 million phones (52.2M total reported by Apple less the 42.4M individually broken out here) would generate $2.8B in revenue ($38B reported by Apple less the computed $35.2B above) which works out to an ASP for the 7Plus, 6s Plus, 6s, and SE of only $285 per device. That is simply not possible given Apple's lowest cost device, the SE, goes for $349.

There is no way the numbers from Strategy Analytics are accurate even if you assume every device sold only at its base configuration, which we know they didn't. The only other option is if Apple is recording the discounts the retailers were giving customers (there were a ton of BOGO deals on the 8 during the period) that drove the ASP down substantially.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ROGmaster
EugW said:
Because it's likely too expensive to be relegated to a 2nd tier model.
Click to expand...

Record-breaking profitability lauded just days ago (again) seem to imply that there is abundant profit in this very model... the bulk of the record results were attributed to this model driving up average price paid for an iPhone.

So I kind of buy your thinking, but it would seem there's some room for it to shift into former model at lower price and still yield plenty of profit for Apple... especially based on how popular it is per stories like this.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Quick someone: send this story (back) to Apple. Rumors are heavy that this best seller is going to be the first iPhone in many years to be discontinued less than 1 year after it's release.

Note: that's not putting down the phone or Apple (certainly no cut at "Apple is doomed" either for those that blow posts out of proportion)- just pointing out a conflicting-but-popular rumor that needs to be mentally reconciled with this kind of story. If it's so very popular, why is Apple killing it less than 1 year after release? And what was the last iPhone that Apple killed <1 year after it's release?

Proactive disclosure to the ADF: I purchased one of these myself.
Click to expand...
The iPhone 5 was a roaring success yet discontinued after 1 year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: manu chao
DipDog3 said:
Same article from last year:
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/05/10/iphone-most-popular-smartphone-q1-2017/

Last year, the iPhone 7 sold 34% more phones than the iPhone X.

Even the iPhone 7 Plus sold 10% more phones then then the iPhone X.

Spin it as you wish, but the sales speak for themselves, the iPhone X, 8 and 8 Plus were all failures.
Click to expand...

Don't be ridiculous.

The iPhone X couldn't even be built in quantities large enough to match the 7 due to low OLED output from Samsung, and starting at $1000 was never meant to sell as much as the 7. The whole lineup, far from being a failure, was a hit that propelled Apple's earning and revenues to new highs, as well as its stock price.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mech986, mdelvecchio, CarlJ and 8 others
I have no opinion of the phone other than I resent its cost. I think smartphones in general are just toys and pacifiers for a bored culture.

I wonder what portion of the X sales were habitual? The few iPhone X owners I know didn't "purchase" the phone. Their employers subsidize the phone cost and have them on various upgrade schedules. They habitually choose the newest and most expensive model regardless (They're allowed to sell their old phone and pocket the cash). Some, but not all, are happy with the X. Those who aren't impressed, aren't dissatisfied with the X hardware. They are disappointed that the phone doesn't do anything new that is useful.
 
So... the pre-earnings call cries of doom are proved to be simple blather of know-nothings. Now they'll turn around and say Apple's earnings are a sign of pending bankruptcy. :)

Apple has hands-down the best eco-system. Whenever I read a review that is about hardware only... I can only shake my head. I've got an iPhone 7plus. What I like about the X is the smaller footprint... or handprint. It feels better in the hand. It's smaller, yet has the same size screen.

Except for Google phones... the problem with Android is you're lucky to ever get a system upgrade.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back