And here you go...the reason the new iphones sold more than the last Xs...because last year Xr come a month later
Now there are all 3 from the start
It's not just that. The marketing this year is also way different and it should have been like that last year already.
Since 2017, Apple has done 2 different models, a mainstream regular one (below 1000$) and a premium one (1000$ and up)
2017: iPhone 8 (Plus) being the regular one, and the X as the premium one
2018: iPhone Xr being the regular and the Xs (Max) as the premium
2019: iPhone 11 is the regular, and the 11 Pro is premium or "Pro"
2017 you had the iPhone 8 (Plus) and the X. The 8 was (and still is) an amazing phone but almost no one pre-ordered it at launch since many already had the 7/ 7 Plus and they were too similar in features to justify an upgrade (700 - 800 $ for the 8 or 8 Plus), and also because the design stayed the same as iPhone 6 / 6s / 7, atleast for the front. Many considered the same old design and the huge bezels to be outdated by 2017.
iPhone X was new at the time being all-screen bezel-less. Everyone got the X which used to be the premium model. 8 was the regular / mainstream, but almost no one bought it. I think that the 8 (Plus) seen more sales in 2018 / 2019, than in 2017.
A year later, Apple released the Xs and Xr. Now the "S" naming scheme was already known, we had the 3GS, 4s, 5s and 6s. The "R" however was new.
People thought that the Xs was just the regular successor to the X (i mean, it is) which everyone bought and loved. And the Xr (which came in later in October) was just a lower-priced iPhone with the 828p LCD and only one camera. People disliked the Xr for the low resolution 828p display (and no, it does not matter at all, i've seen it many times in person and i would have zero problem with it, it looks amazing).
The Xr was never meant to be budget, it was just the mainstream / regular model for 2018. The true budget iPhone at the time was the entry-level 449$ iPhone 7.
The mistake that Apple made in 2018 was that they revealed the Xs (Max) first at the 2018 keynote, and that they also released the Xr in late october, instead of in September as they did with the Xs. Also i heard that there were some production issues with the all-screen LCD, which could have lead to the late October release.
This year, it's different and it will definitely help the sale of the 11. The Xr successor is now just called "11", not "11r", and they also lowered the pricing by 50$ which is also really helpful. Some have also meant that the Xr should have been 699$, not 749$.
And the Xs successor? It's no longer called the "s" or "11", it's called Pro. For good reason. A "pro" phone can be expensive (over 1000$). I don't know if it's truly Pro or not, and i don't care either way, because i would just get the regular 11. But this has been the right move. The regular 11 is definitely a step up from the Xr, and the average consumer will be very happy with that phone. The Pro, well that's for people who want that OLED, or the larger battery, or the third camera.