Home
News
You are here

The iPhone X pumps iOS share in important markets, offsetting its slow uptake

Jan 30, 2018, 9:33 AM

Daniel Petrov

In the latest installment of the iPhone-X-sells-bad saga, analysts are rushing to explain that, even though Apple may have cut the Q1 orders for the handset, and is expected to forecast much lower sales numbers for the current quarter, it's all been worth it for the company when it comes to the bottom line. Not only has the iPhone X likely raised the average selling price of iPhones to record heights, which will more than offset the tepid sales predictions, in terms of operating profits, but the notch-y handset has evidently pushed the iOS market share and loyalty way up in important markets.

This final point comes courtesy of today's Kantar report, and the research firm plotted the iPhone X to be among the three best-selling devices in Europe, Urban China, Japan, Australia and, of course, the United States. As you can see from the stats below, the iOS uptake in urban China has been huge, with a 10% increase, and, given that this is the largest cell phone market in the world, Apple's iPhone X pricing strategy may have born fruit, as analysts still predict a record quarter to be reported on Thursday by Apple after market close. As per Kantar's Dominic Sunnebo:

The full results for the last quarter of the year show that Apple’s decision to release three new handsets over a staggered period, including the ultra high-end iPhone X, has been a sound one. With Apple’s existing release structure, expectations would always be that the flagship model would be the top selling device in key developed markets, but with the premium price of iPhone X, real life affordability has come into play. Given that in December iPhone X made it into the top three best-selling devices across all key regions, particularly in urban China where it was the top selling model, the pricing strategy seems to have been vindicated.