Purchase data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) suggests that the iPhone 8 is selling in smaller numbers than an ‘S’ model.
The company says that the iPhone 8/Plus accounted for just 16% of all iPhone sales in the past quarter, against 24% for the iPhone 6S/Plus …
It said that ‘tick’ models of the iPhone usually accounted for more than 40% of sales – even the iPhone 7, which represented a relatively small design iteration on its predecessor.
The firm’s numbers suggest that at least some of those who would otherwise have bought the iPhone 8 have instead gone for last year’s model following the price cut made by Apple.
In the same time frame last year, iPhone 7 and 7 Plus together accounted for 43% of sales [and] three years ago, the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus were 46% of sales in their launch quarter.
Others, it says, are waiting for the iPhone X.
Both the newly reduced-price iPhone 7 and 7 Plus and older iPhone models continue to see strong demand. The 7 and 7 Plus account for 58% of sales in the quarter, much higher than the 35% for the then year-old iPhone 6S and 6S Plus in September 2016
CIRP’s data is based on a survey of 500 U.S. Apple customers who purchased a product during the quarter. It should be noted that 500 is the smallest sample size generally considered statistically relevant.
We’ve been hearing conflicting reports on sales of the iPhone 8, with some positive commentary appearing to be more than offset by more pessimistic assessments. I last week gave my view on the reasons I think limited sales of the iPhone 8 is good news for Apple.
