Currently offered iPhone 17 models set a calendar Q1 sales record
Compared to last year's March quarter, the iPhone 17 line rewrote the Apple record books.
Sales record set by iPhone 17 line. | Image by PhoneArena
When the iPhone was first released in June 2007, you had two choices. You either bought an iPhone, or you didn't. That was your choice until 2013 when Apple sold the iPhone 5s and the cheaper, plastic-shelled and brightly colored iPhone 5c.
The first year iPhone buyers had a choice between models was 2013 with the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c
For what it's worth, the iPhone 5s was the first iPhone with Touch ID, something that the lower-priced iPhone 5c failed to have. Last year, those buying a new iPhone following the usual September unveiling had four options to choose from including the iPhone 17, iPhone Air, iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Apple added the low-priced iPhone 17e in March of this year.
With the release of data related to Apple's March quarter (the tech giant's fiscal second quarter of 2026), CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners) discovered something interesting. The premium-priced iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max combined to make up half of all U.S. iPhone sales during the calendar first quarter. Last year, the premium-priced iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max accounted for 38% of all U.S. iPhone sales during the calendar first quarter.
That stat alone shows how iPhone buyers in the U.S. increased purchases of the pricier iPhone models this year compared to last year. The base iPhone 17 made up 23% of iPhone revenue from January-March 2026, a small increase from the 20% of iPhone sales from January-March 2025 that the base iPhone 16 was responsible for.
Apple is unable to find a solid model to bridge the base and Pro models
Apple still hasn't been able to fix the weak sales of the middle iPhone in its lineup. Starting with the iPhone 12 mini, first released in 2020, the tech giant has not been able to come up with an iPhone model bridging the base and Pro models that have been popular with consumers.
What should Apple try next as a bridge iPhone model between the base and Pro units?
After the iPhone mini failed during a couple of years, Apple brought back the iPhone Plus name from 2022 through 2024 and that also failed to catch on. Last year, Apple put its super-thin iPhone Air in between the base iPhone 17 and the iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max, but this surprisingly failed as well.
Graphs comparing breakdown of iPhone sales during the calendar Q1 of 2026 and 2025. | Image by CIRP
Disappointing sales for the iPhone Air
CIRP stated that for the calendar first quarter of 2026, the iPhone Air was responsible for only 5% of January-March 2026 U.S. iPhone sales. That was even lower than the 9% of U.S. sales during the calendar first quarter generated by the phone that the iPhone Air replaced, the iPhone 16 Plus. Some of that difference can be explained by the higher price for the
Air compared to the iPhone 16 Plus.
Current iPhone models set a record for a March quarter as they were responsible for 82% of all U.S. sales
Even though it was in the lineup for only a few weeks during the calendar first quarter, the low-priced iPhone 17e nearly matched the iPhone Air by collecting 4% of U.S. sales in the March quarter. Speaking of the March quarter, the five current iPhone 17 models accounted for 82% of all iPhone sales in the U.S. during the past quarter, a record for any March quarter.
The breakdown during the calendar first quarter of 2026 is as follows:
- iPhone 17-23%
- iPhone Air-5%
- iPhone 17 Pro-24%
- iPhone 17 Pro Max-26%
- iPhone 17e-4%
The remaining iPhones sold during the March quarter this year added up to 18%:
- iPhone 16-11%
- iPhone 16 Plus-2%
- iPhone 16e-5%
Compare those figures with the percentage of total U.S. iPhone sales made during the calendar first quarter of 2025:
- iPhone 16-20%
- iPhone 16 Plus-9%
- iPhone 16 Pro-17%
- iPhone 16 Pro Max-21%
- iPhone 16e-7%
The remaining iPhone models sold in the U.S. during the calendar first quarter of 2025:
- iPhone SE 3-1%
- iPhone 14-8%
- iPhone 14 Plus-2%
- iPhone 15-12%
- iPhone 15 Plus-3%
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