Apple's new iPhone SE lags siblings in sales as 9.7" iPad Pro performs well, analytics data says

AppleInsider · April 4, 2016 4:12PM

The newest, littlest iPhone hasn't captured the imagination of smartphone buyers just yet, new launch data indicates, while the 9.7-inch iPad Pro has seen steady adoption following last week's debut.

In the days after the iPhone SE was released to the public, it accounted for just 0.1 percent of all iPhones observed by analytics firm Localytics. That is the lowest first-weekend total for any new iPhone release in the last five years, just behind the 0.3 percent posted by the jumbo iPhone 6 Plus and 6S Plus.

For comparison, the iPhone 6 posted the highest total, accounting for 2 percent of all observed iPhones over its first weekend.

It's not clear why the iPhone SE may be lagging, though its mid-cycle release -- when many consumers in the U.S. are in the middle of wireless contracts -- may have something to do with it. AppleInsider's review found it to be an incredibly capable and future-proof device that those clamoring for a smaller form factor will enjoy.

Meanwhile, the new 9.7-inch iPad Pro accounted for 0.4 percent of all iPads in its first weekend. That matches the iPad Air 2 and is a tick higher than the 0.3 percent showing of the larger iPad Pro.

The numbers came from an examination of data from more than 100 million iPhones and 50 million iPads. The opening weekend for the iPhone SE and iPad Pro was defined as March 31 to April 3.

erickw · April 4, 2016 4:21PM

The 5C was a new iPhone release in the last five years... so why aren't its launch sales anywhere in the chart? Simple oversight or dropping facts to fit a narrative?

1983 · April 4, 2016 4:26PM

I'm a little surprised by this...I thought the SE was going to be a hit. A lot less people want a new tech 4" iPhone than expected. Maybe its because a whole new generation iPhone is coming in only 5 months? Oh well...

tzeshan · April 4, 2016 4:27PM

Walmart will offer a discount of $100 for SE. May be it has placed a big order because AAPL is up 1.63% today despite NASDAQ down 3.77. The SE is particularly suitable for a discount store like Walmart. I think the genius in Kuo could not see this happening with Walmart because it is not history.

tzeshan · April 4, 2016 4:29PM

Since SE is different from previous Apple new products introduction, comparing it with previous data is irrelevant.

volcan · April 4, 2016 4:36PM

1983 said:

I'm a little surprised by this...I thought the SE was going to be a hit. A lot less people want a new tech 4" iPhone than expected. Maybe its because a whole new generation iPhone is coming in only 5 months? Oh well...

The SE is not really a new iPhone. It is taking the place of the entry level 5s. The target market is people with a 4s or people on a fixed budget seeking their first iPhone. Anyone who is anticipating the arrival of iPhone 7 is never going to be interested in any entry level iPhone.

Silico · April 4, 2016 4:38PM

First, this study as presented is of limited usefulness. It doesn't take into account that when the iP6 (for example) was introduced, there were far fewer total iPhones in use. An absolute number (as opposed to a percentage) of iP SEs active over the 1st weekend would have given a clearer picture of what was going on.

Despite this issue with the data, I'm not surprised by slow sales of the SE. My impression is that relatively few potential buyers are excited by improved specs - its an exciting new design that most people can't wait to purchase - and we sure didn't get that with the SE.

NY1822 · April 4, 2016 4:41PM

Does this reflect that the SE is free with a 2-year upgrade? Does this count International Sales, free upgrades, just Apple Store purchases, are all retailers included? My same question would apply to a previous article on demographics of iPhone buyers...when I walked in the apple store to purchase a phone, I did not fill out anything giving my age, gender, etc.....I know, sounds stupid, but these stats are merely a slice of the real data

volcan · April 4, 2016 4:51PM

NY1822 said:

Does this reflect that the SE is free with a 2-year upgrade?

Not a factor really. FREE is usually not free anyway. The data is simply iPhone SE use, free or bought outright. Their methodology is detecting the use of the device through their partner apps and websites. That said, I'm not sure how valid that data is because the target market is completely different. Perhaps people who are not heavy app or data users are more inclined to purchase this phone.

josu · April 4, 2016 4:51PM

tzeshan said:

Walmart will offer a discount of $100 for SE. May be it has placed a big order because AAPL is up 1.63% today despite NASDAQ down 3.77. The SE is particularly suitable for a discount store like Walmart. I think the genius in Kuo could not see this happening with Walmart because it is not history.

Apple is also listed in S&P 500 and DJIA, so maybe the Nasdaq down is due to other tech stocks, or a completely different kind of stocks listed there too.

davidmalcolm · April 4, 2016 4:58PM

They'd be much smarter to compare this to the 5C to determine whether it's been a success. Also lots of people with iPhone 6 or 6S are on contract still and may prefer the smaller size but don't want to pay a cancelation fee to switch. I think the SE will do very well over the long haul as opposed to right at it's start. It's more of the phone that you get if you killed your's and need to get a new iPhone but don't have a lot of cash, or the one you buy your kid, or the one you get if money isn't an issue but you just really like a smaller phone. And trust me being the free on contract iPhone will over time generate a lot of sales. I also think this means they'll be ditching the iPhone 6 after this year is over and moving the 6S and 6S Plus down by a hundred.

foggyhill · April 4, 2016 4:59PM

It only needs to sell better than the 5s, especially in new markets like India (not now because it gets the release date premium), and prevent switching to other companies.
If those two goals are met, and I expect they will be, Apple will be happy.

macplusplus · April 4, 2016 5:04PM

The SE is apparently a long term business as Apple has removed the numbering descriptor previewing a slow start.

5s may prevent SE's penetration because 5s is still an excellent phone. When 5s is totally exhausted in the channel and existing 5s owners think to upgrade because of battery or camera/4K or LTE advantages then the SE will prevail.

There are better posts below about retail (un)availability, which explains today's 0.1 percent better than anything else.

jungmark · April 4, 2016 5:10PM

"In the days after the iPhone SE was released to the public, it accounted for just 0.1 percent of all iPhones observed by analytics firm Localytics. "

I never heard of these guys. The SE isn't the flagship iPhone.

rogifan_new · April 4, 2016 5:17PM

1983 said:

I'm a little surprised by this...I thought the SE was going to be a hit. A lot less people want a new tech 4" iPhone than expected. Maybe its because a whole new generation iPhone is coming in only 5 months? Oh well...

So one data point, which may or may not be an accurate predictor of sales, on a product that just went on sale and you're already claiming it won't be a hit? This isn't the flagship iPhone. People aren't going to be lining up outside Apple stores to buy it. It's mostly for people who prefer a smaller size and/or want to spend less on a phone. Those probably aren't the kind of people thar will rush out to buy this on day one.

antkm1 · April 4, 2016 5:17PM

I'm a little surprised by this also. My better half wanted to replace her aging iPhone 5C. I too wanted to "downgrade" from my iPhone 6, since i've never been satisfied with the size of the newer phones. We went on launch day (March 31st) to an apple store just to find they were sold out of every model except for the 16gb Sprint phones. We were told to check the app for availability every day at 8:01am. Doing so turned up nothing for the next 3 days. On Saturday we just so happened to be at the mall. I checked the app with every possible configuration while we shopped at other stores. No stock in anything. We walked into the Apple Store and asked. They had some models in stock but not many. We wanted the 64gb "Sim free" model, which they did have one in stock. (Note: we would have settled on the AT&T model but they didn't have any of those). We could not reserve it so we patiently waited in the queue to be assisted by one of the Apple Store employees. When our number came up, they had already sold that model and we left without a phone. Giving up on dealing with the Apple Store (and their app, which did not accurately reflect their stock counts...and after two attempts got frustrated with the idea that the only way we could accurately view stock counts was to actually show up to the store and ask) we decided to order our phones online. That gives us a 7-10-day-until-shipping window and we won't see our phones until April 20th (earliest). So from my POV, it seems there is demand for this device, we just couldn't get one (or two). The Apple Store employee said they have received very small shipments of them, and would not tell us how regularly they would get more...claiming even Apple corporate doesn't tell them what their shipments contain...which if you ask me is BS.

That all being well and good, it tells me one of two things are at play here.
1. Apple could have underestimated demand for this phone and went to launch on very low stock in stores.
2. The numbers quoted in AI's source material suggests low adoption, but that could be because there were so few available to purchase at launch.

As a side note, we did also check the local Target and Best Buy for stock, of which they had none (Saturday). My girlfriend even got an email from Target saying they would have the SE at launch date and when we arrived at the local Target, they didn't even have them on display...so we left assuming they didn't have any. Best Buy's website said we could only see stock in store only so we decided not to get fooled again by online information.

rogifan_new · April 4, 2016 5:19PM

jungmark said:

"In the days after the iPhone SE was released to the public, it accounted for just 0.1 percent of all iPhones observed by analytics firm Localytics. "

I never heard of these guys. The SE isn't the flagship iPhone.

This is so dumb. It's not a new flagship phone released for the holidays. It's a long-tail product, not something Apple was expecting to sell 10 million of in a weekend.

wood1208 · April 4, 2016 5:21PM

Let's wait and talk about iphone SE on it's 1 year anniversary !! Statistics might be different, better. When I compare 4" ier iphone or any bigger android phones(without VoLTE), to me VoLTE is a big deal. It provides clear call/voice/audio so I don't have to keep the iphone pushed against ear listening what other person talking especially in noisy environment.

antkm1 · April 4, 2016 5:24PM

Silico said:

Despite this issue with the data, I'm not surprised by slow sales of the SE. My impression is that relatively few potential buyers are excited by improved specs - its an exciting new design that most people can't wait to purchase - and we sure didn't get that with the SE.

I'm one of those few that would "downgrade" from my iP6. I am disappointed that the SE doesn't have the barometer, 5mp FaceTime camera, and 128gb storage. I'm also disappointed that they didn't updated the form-factor, since i didn't really care for the 5/5s design, and the limited Apple accessory options for cases. But, i'm getting one anyway because i want a smaller phone. And based on my post above, my girlfriend also wants the SE for the same reason. So there's at least a two more people that want one but couldn't get one because of such low stock.

ration al · April 4, 2016 5:30PM

We need to be patient here. The carrier upgrade cycle is based mostly on the fall release schedule of new iPhones. The SE may be most popular with current 4" iPhone users who's current contracts are then set to expire. Though my assumption depends on the ratio of 3 to 4 year old 4" iPhones that are either on- or off-contract.

Expanding availability to more markets will also help of course. It was only in 12 countries within the first few days.

rogifan_new · April 4, 2016 5:36PM

tzeshan said:

Walmart will offer a discount of $100 for SE. May be it has placed a big order because AAPL is up 1.63% today despite NASDAQ down 3.77. The SE is particularly suitable for a discount store like Walmart. I think the genius in Kuo could not see this happening with Walmart because it is not history.

The stock is up today because Credit Suisse put out another one of these research notes talking up install base and services, basically the whole Wall Street views Apple as a hardware company and that's wrong meme. I swear sell-side analysts make me want to vomit. For months it was all Apple doom because of alleged declining iPhone sales. Now it's, Apple's great and they're going to make all services revenue off their install base. Yet the install base hasn't changed much since December and Apple hasn't added any new services so what's changed between now and December?

Apple's new iPhone SE lags siblings in sales as 9.7" iPad Pro performs well, analytics data says

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