The iPhone SE and iPhone 11 accounted for over half of US iPhone sales in Q3

The iPhone SE (2020) was very popular last quarter

The latest customer survey by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) reveals that the new iPhone SE accounted for an impressive 22% of all US iPhone sales between July and September 2020.

That makes it the second-most popular single model in Apple’s iPhone lineup behind the iPhone 11, which was recently discounted to $599 from $699 following the release of the iPhone 12 series.

CIRP notes that the iPhone SE (2020) succeeded in attracting customers with old phones that may have previously been reluctant to upgrade. That was always the end-goal for the iPhone SE, but its performance seems to be exceeding expectations.

Most of these iPhone SE buyers will now stay inside the Apple ecosystem for several more years, giving Apple plenty of time to monetize them with services such as Apple Arcade, iCloud, and Apple TV+.

The iPhone 11 was the best-selling iPhone, again

The best-selling iPhone last quarter, as mentioned above, was the standard iPhone 11. It accounted for a whopping 31% of all iPhone purchases and should experience continued success in the current quarter thanks to the aforementioned price cut.

However, it won’t be the best-selling model. That title should go to the $799 iPhone 12, although the upcoming $699 iPhone 12 mini probably won’t be far behind on the leaderboard.

As for the iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max, these flagships held a combined market share of 33% during the third quarter. That’s especially impressive when compared to the iPhone XS & iPhone XS Max, which accounted for around 10% of sales during the equivalent quarter a year earlier.

Of course, that isn’t a completely fair comparison. The iPhone 11 series hit shelves in late September which lowered the market share of older models. This year, the iPhone 12 lineup arrived a full month later and had no share of sales in the September quarter.

People are still buying the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus

The iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus rounded out the list of most popular iPhone models in Q3 2020 with around 8% of sales. These devices were officially discontinued in mid-April but are still available through carriers and third-party retailers.

The final 6% of US iPhone sales between July and September went to the iPhone XR, which was released exactly two years ago today on October 26, 2018.

Apple increased its own share of US iPhone sales

On a related note, it seems Apple has managed to slightly decrease its dependence on carriers and retailers in the United States. CIRP says the Apple Store accounted for 21% of all iPhone sales, compared to 13% a year earlier.

That’s one of the best quarters in recent years and the best ever September quarter. Physical stores accounted for 8% of sales and the online website was used for 13% of iPhone purchases.

Carriers, on the other hand, saw their share of sales drop from 74% to 71%. Retail carrier stores accounted for almost 50% of iPhone orders and just over 20% were placed through their respective websites.

As for Best Buy, it performed the worst last quarter. It’s share of iPhone sales halved from 8% to 4%, with 3% happening in-store and just 1% online.