Satisfactory iPhone XS sales in the first week although iPhone 7 remains the #1

October 5, 2018

Flurry Analytics used data from over a million mobile apps to estimate iPhone XS sales, comparing them to the launch of the iPhone X and iPhone 8 last year.

The company says its data shows that this year's flagship iPhones proved to be a major success for Apple, even before the iPhone XR hit the market ...

It was no surprise that first-week sales of the iPhone XS/Max outpaced sales of the iPhone 8/Plus last year. The late release of the iPhone X last year seems to have come at a cost.

However, the company also reports that a comparison shows that Apple had 7% more revenue from iPhone XS sales (both figures) than from the combined sales of the iPhone X and iPhone 8/Plus in the respective periods of the previous year.

"We reach the following conclusion by comparing the revenues generated by two groups of devices:

2017: 8, 8 Plus (released 22-27 September 2017) and X (released 3 - 9 November 2017)

2018: XS, XS Max and X (all individual unit sales from 21 to 27, 2018)

From this comparison, taking the unit sales of the various devices and multiplying them by different prices from each time period, we estimate that Apple had 7% more revenue during the first week from increased sales of the iPhone XS, XS Max and iPhone X (now offered at a discounted price), compared to the combined sales of the 8, 8 Plus and the original iPhone X during the same first week last year."

The company expects this trend to continue over the holidays.

"The bottom line is that Apple is still able to get the lion's share of the market with its latest devices, although it is dramatically raising prices to maintain revenue. The strategy seems to be working and is well positioned for the holiday season. We look forward to seeing more sales developments as we get into the holiday season."

However, although the iPhone XS is successful, the iPhone 7 still holds the top spot.

"In terms of market penetration, the iPhone 7 (15,40%) is the # 1 iPhone model at present. The iPhone 7 Plus (12,73%) is # 2, followed by the iPhone 6S (12,40%)."

The iPhone XS Max won the DisplayMate award as the smartphone with the best display, while Consumer Reports said it wasn't good enough to take the spot from the Samsung Galaxy Note 9.