Apple iPhone surges 16 percent in US in spite of market's overall decline

AppleInsider

Apple's U.S. iPhone sales were up 16 percent year-over-year during the March quarter to 16 million, even as the domestic smartphone market as a whole dropped 11 percent from 43.7 million units to 38.7 million, according to research published on Tuesday.

Six out of the 10 most popular smartphone models were sold by Apple, the 64-gigabyte iPhone 8 being the most popular, said Counterpoint Research. The 64- and 256-gigabyte versions of the iPhone X ranked second and third -- notably, the 256-gigabyte iPhone 8 Plus didn't place in the top 10.

The highest-ranking non-Apple device was the 64-gigabyte Samsung Galaxy S8, which placed sixth. Apple is "showing continued success in taking share away from Samsung in the premium market space," Counterpoint analyst Maurice Klaehne commented, noting that it controls 80 percent of the $800-plus "super-premium" market while Samsung sales were down 4 percent.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has claimed that the $999-plus iPhone X has been the most popular iPhone model worldwide every week since its November launch.

Counterpoint indicated that Apple's growth percentages during launch quarters have been declining, but that it has nevertheless expanded U.S. marketshare to 42 percent, thanks to a rising install base, "prepaid channel improvements," and business-to-business sales.

Prior to Apple announcing its March quarter results, some analysts had conjectured that sales of the iPhone X and/or iPhone 8 were soft, the former because of its price and the latter because of a modest evolution versus the iPhone 7. In fact the 32-gigabyte iPhone 7 ranked seventh in the U.S. last quarter, signalling continued relevance for some buyers.

blastdoor

Good news, glad to see it. 

One thing I've been wondering about is whether the iPhone lineup has reached a point where the number of models is so large as to be confusing. We've got SE, 6s, 6s+, 7, 7+, 8, 8+, and X all on sale as "new" (not refurbished) phones from Apple. 

But maybe these numbers mean it's ok.... maybe all of these models are serving a legit market? 

cesar battistini maziero

This year if that rumored iPhone line up is true, it's game over for the enemy.

rotateleftbyte

and the situation is reversed in Europe but no mention of that.
Here Samsung rules and Apple is a bit part player.

macpro

rotateleftbyte said:

and the situation is reversed in Europe but no mention of that.
Here Samsung rules and Apple is a bit part player.

How do the European profits for Apple and Samsung compare?  Is Samsung ruling in that too?  Just curious.

mike1

Like all these research reports, I take it with a grain or two of salt. That said, some observations.

1. Four of the top five sellers can be considered having the smaller form factor. I know the X kind of splits the difference with a larger screen and smaller footprint. Still, pretty interesting that the larger screens that everybody seemed to be demanding are not the biggest sellers.

2. The top 5 sellers are all the newest phones. Only the 7 at #7 (ironically) is an "older" phone and the 6s and SE are not on the list. Clearly, having less expensive models is not the be all and end all of Apple's success.

kuyangkoh

rotateleftbyte said:

and the situation is reversed in Europe but no mention of that.
Here Samsung rules and Apple is a bit part player.

Who cares about Europe, somehow most of them can’t afford Iphone high end, now it’s been mentioned.....smile hahaha

blunt

rotateleftbyte said:

and the situation is reversed in Europe but no mention of that.
Here Samsung rules and Apple is a bit part player.

No Samsung does not rule. They mostly sell the cheap models. The S9 they sell with free external speakers to keep up the sales. In terms of profits Apple crushes Samsung.

nunzy

Market share is irrelevant to Wall Street. All they ask is that Apple rake in the profits. And Tim knows how to make them their profits.

Apple doesn't care about market share. Apple cares about total profits. And Apple is killing it. Look at their stock.

Tim probably profited a Billion dollars personally following the latest profit report.

isalmanpak

rotateleftbyte said:

and the situation is reversed in Europe but no mention of that.
Here Samsung rules and Apple is a bit part player.

Lots more Apple phones in the US compared to other regions. The first time I ever saw an iPhone X in the wild was in California in Feb. Hadn't seen one in use anywhere in Canada before that. I've actually only seen one iPhone X in Canada since then.

isalmanpak

Cesar Battistini Maziero said:

This year if that rumored iPhone line up is true, it's game over for the enemy.

Who's the "enemy"? People who choose to use a different phone than you? LOL!

tmay

iSalmanPak said:

rotateleftbyte said:

and the situation is reversed in Europe but no mention of that.
Here Samsung rules and Apple is a bit part player.

Lots more Apple phones in the US compared to other regions. The first time I ever saw an iPhone X in the wild was in California in Feb. Hadn't seen one in use anywhere in Canada before that. I've actually only seen one iPhone X in Canada since then.

You haven't seen but one iPhone X in the wild, and yet, the iPhone X has been the best selling single model in the world.

With that, I feel free to ignore your anecdotal evidence.

avon b7

mike1 said:

Like all these research reports, I take it with a grain or two of salt. That said, some observations.

1. Four of the top five sellers can be considered having the smaller form factor. I know the X kind of splits the difference with a larger screen and smaller footprint. Still, pretty interesting that the larger screens that everybody seemed to be demanding are not the biggest sellers.

2. The top 5 sellers are all the newest phones. Only the 7 at #7 (ironically) is an "older" phone and the 6s and SE are not on the list. Clearly, having less expensive models is not the be all and end all of Apple's success.

Don't forget that this research is limited to the US and just one quarter.

The iPhone 6 series is probably holding up the bottom end in many other parts of the world where the premium segment isn't so strong. 

steven n.

rotateleftbyte said:

and the situation is reversed in Europe but no mention of that.
Here Samsung rules and Apple is a bit part player.

That's why Apple has no profits and the EU. /s

spheric

MacPro said:

rotateleftbyte said:

and the situation is reversed in Europe but no mention of that.
Here Samsung rules and Apple is a bit part player.

How do the European profits for Apple and Samsung compare?  Is Samsung ruling in that too?  Just curious.

https://www.statista.com/statistics/632599/smartphone-market-share-by-vendor-in-europe/

We don't have current data for Europe from 2018. The latest data I've been able to find is for Q4 2017. 

cropr

Kuyangkoh said:

rotateleftbyte said:

and the situation is reversed in Europe but no mention of that.
Here Samsung rules and Apple is a bit part player.

Who cares about Europe, somehow most of them can’t afford Iphone high end, now it’s been mentioned.....smile hahaha

I am European and I make enough money to buy every day an iPhone.  But that does not mean I intend to do that. 

It is remarkable that Apple only has a decent market share in the English speaking countries of Europe,  In Germany, the Benelux and Scandinavia, the richest countries of Europe, the market share is much lower.   So money plays a smaller role than the too English centric service offering of Apple.   Siri in non English language is an absolute joke. 

edited May 2018

blunt

cropr said:

I am European and I make enough money to buy every day an iPhone.  But that does not mean I intend to do that. 

It is remarkable that Apple only has a decent market share in the English speaking countries of Europe,  In Germany, the Benelux and Scandinavia, the richest countries of Europe, the market share is much lower.   So money plays a smaller role than the too English centric service offering of Apple.   Siri in non English language is an absolute joke. 

Bullshit. Apple is huge in the benelux. All kids want an iPhone. Siri in Dutch is very good.

In addition when I went to Sweden I was in a shopping mall with a huge Apple store. Man it was so crowded it was unbelievebla. In the mall there was also a small Samsung store with almost nobody there.

edited May 2018

slurpy

nunzy said:

Market share is irrelevant to Wall Street. All they ask is that Apple rake in the profits. And Tim knows how to make them their profits.

Apple doesn't care about market share. Apple cares about total profits. And Apple is killing it. Look at their stock.

Tim probably profited a Billion dollars personally following the latest profit report.

You make the same mind-numbing post in every fucking thread, like a damn spambot. How the hell are you not banned yet? Mods?

And no, Tim did not probably “profit a billion dollars personally” following the latest report. What a ludicrous statement. 

tmay

avon b7 said:

mike1 said:

Like all these research reports, I take it with a grain or two of salt. That said, some observations.

1. Four of the top five sellers can be considered having the smaller form factor. I know the X kind of splits the difference with a larger screen and smaller footprint. Still, pretty interesting that the larger screens that everybody seemed to be demanding are not the biggest sellers.

2. The top 5 sellers are all the newest phones. Only the 7 at #7 (ironically) is an "older" phone and the 6s and SE are not on the list. Clearly, having less expensive models is not the be all and end all of Apple's success.

Don't forget that this research is limited to the US and just one quarter.

The iPhone 6 series is probably holding up the bottom end in many other parts of the world where the premium segment isn't so strong. 

Certainly, the premium segment isn't large in most countries, but it is likely that Apple is capturing most of the revenue and profits in that segment, and also likely to be selling the most units in that segment.

There are likely some exceptions where Samsung, or one of the Chinese OEM's leads in revenues and profits, especially smaller third world countries. This is Apple's advantage, where they are the sole provider in the iOS device marketplace, and where their cheapest iPhone, whether that be the 6, 6s, or the SE, exceeds the ASP of all Android OS OEM's.*

*Google likely has a higher ASP than any of the OEM's, due to the Pixel, but unlikely to have a higher ASP than Apple. Either way, Google's Pixel sales are more than a magnitude smaller than Apple's, so there's that.

edited May 2018

avon b7

tmay said:

avon b7 said:

mike1 said:

Like all these research reports, I take it with a grain or two of salt. That said, some observations.

1. Four of the top five sellers can be considered having the smaller form factor. I know the X kind of splits the difference with a larger screen and smaller footprint. Still, pretty interesting that the larger screens that everybody seemed to be demanding are not the biggest sellers.

2. The top 5 sellers are all the newest phones. Only the 7 at #7 (ironically) is an "older" phone and the 6s and SE are not on the list. Clearly, having less expensive models is not the be all and end all of Apple's success.

Don't forget that this research is limited to the US and just one quarter.

The iPhone 6 series is probably holding up the bottom end in many other parts of the world where the premium segment isn't so strong. 

Certainly, the premium segment isn't large in most countries, but it is likely that Apple is capturing most of the revenue and profits in that segment, and also likely to be selling the most units in that segment.

There are likely some exceptions where Samsung, or one of the Chinese OEM's leads in revenues and profits, especially smaller third world countries. This is Apple's advantage, where they are the sole provider in the iOS device marketplace, and where their cheapest iPhone, whether that be the 6, 6s, or the SE, exceeds the ASP of all Android OS OEM's.*

*Google likely has a higher ASP than any of the OEM's, due to the Pixel, but unlikely to have a higher ASP than Apple. Either way, Google's Pixel sales are more than a magnitude smaller than Apple's, so there's that.

It's possible (especially in Q1/Q2). The 6 series is probably an essential part of the global strategy and yesterday's CAD renders for the notch (Face ID-equipped?) SE looked gorgeous to me. If they are actually real and see a June release, it would be an excellent move on Apple's part. We'll know for sure in short order.

edited May 2018

perpetual3

People don’t make as much money in Europe in the US, and they pay more money in taxes, in exchange for education, health care, and retirement.  In the South if France (Nice), the average dual family income is €2000 per month.  So, I’m not surprised if iPhones are not as popular as cheaper androids. 


However, I lived in Monaco, and travelled frequently to Paris and Amsterdam.  In those cities I can’t say I saw any less iPhones than in the Cincinnati, OH (where I am currently living). Certainly in some situations, I only saw iPhone.

 In My opinion, iPhone is definitely a status symbol in Europe.  A luxury good. In the States, most freshman college students have iPhones.