Apple iPhone sales at major U.S. carriers didn't crash heading into today's event

According to the latest Wave 7 research report, there was no slowing down the iPhone even as we moved closer to this morning's California Streaming event. From April through August, iPhone models made up 60% to 69% of sales at Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Sales of the iPhone 12 Pro Max were near the top of its monthly range in August at all three major U.S. carriers indicating strong demand for the line.

In theory, iPhone 12 sales would have slowed heading into the unveiling of the new models as consumers would have waited to see what new features are coming and what the pricing for the new models would be. This writer would have kicked himself in the butt extremely hard had I purchased an iPhone 12 Pro Max over the last month knowing full well that the iPhone 13 series was being unveiled soon.

Consider that Apple has hiked the battery life by 2.5 hours for the iPhone 13 Pro Max, added the 120Hz refresh rate, and improved the cameras and you wonder why iPhone 12 Pro Max buyers, or buyers of any iPhone 12 model really, couldn't wait a few weeks. And with pricing the same for the base models (although with twice the storage at 128GB), you would have to be diagnosed with Triskaidekaphobia (fear of the number 13) in order to think that you got a better deal by buying an iPhone 12 series handset back in August.

The data from Wave 7 showed that older iPhone models purchased from the three major U.S. carriers performed like you would have expected as we moved closer to today's event with iPhone 11 series and older models accounting for 3% of Verizon sales (it was 5% in June), 4% at AT&T (down from 9% in June), and 5% at T-Mobile (down from 9% during the previous month). The older iPhone models still available at carriers include the iPhone 11 series and the iPhone XR.

The iPhone has had rather tepid sales at pre-paid carriers and makes up under 10% of total handset revenue at Metro. Older models are the clear winner at Metro where the iPhone XR, the iPhone SE, and the iPhone 11 made up 85% of iPhone sales at the T-Mobile unit. The iPhone SE (2020) can be found at most well-known pre-paid providers. Metro also had a deal that resulted in a free iPhone 12 mini for a customer porting over his/her number and trading in a qualified device. of a qualified device.

Despite the free iPhone 12 mini promo, the phone accounted for half of one percent of Metro's phone sales in August according to a major Metro dealer. Apple is said to be getting rid of the 5.4-inch model next year w3ith the iPhone 14 series expected to include the iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Max, the iPhone 14 Pro, and the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Samsung has been locked in over the last five months with its phones accounting for roughly 30% of sales at the three major stateside wireless providers. The report cites LG's decision to exit the smartphone business and the lack of an Android alternative for Sammy's strong and consistent performance. At T-Mobile, the OnePlus 9 gives customers another Android option.

Despite talk of a comeback at Motorola, the brand remains a slow seller at the major U.S. carriers. It does own approximately a 20% share at Metro but that was down from 25% in July thanks to supply issues. The number continued to drop as September started. The Pixel brand has practically disappeared from the carriers' shelves with the brand making up 2% of Verizon's August sales, 1% of AT&T's sales for last month, and 0% of T-Mobile's sales.

Wave 7 also spoke with 37 reps and for the period from August 26-September 4, Samsung's top seller at Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile was the Galaxy S21. 16 out of 37 carrier reps. The Galaxy S21 Ultra has done well as has the Galaxy S21+. Perhaps it wouldn't be surprising for many of you to hear that Samsung's 2021 flagships are doing well. The mid-range Galaxy A12 seems to have found some traction at AT&T.