A recent survey of those who purchased the latest models of Apple’s popular iPhone handsets show the iPhone 5s is outselling the iPhone 5c by over two to one.
In September, Apple launched a pair of new iPhones, the flagship iPhone 5s and the mid-tier iPhone 5c, and a new analysis by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) shows that the higher-end 5s has been outselling the lower-priced 5c.
Among those who purchased Apple’s latest iPhones during the last days of September, the 5s accounted for 64% of total iPhone sales, the 5c accounted for 27%, and the iPhone 4S took the remaining 9% of iPhone sales.
Despite its colorful new design, the iPhone 5c is only selling a little bit better than last years iPhone 4S, which then held the spot as Apple’s “$99” phone, grabbing 27% of sales, compared to the iPhone 4S’s 23% of sales it captured during the same period last year.
“The relative performance of all three iPhones is generally in line with the performance of the similarly priced phones following the launch of the iPhone 5 in 2012,” CIRP co-founder Josh Lowitz told AllThingsD. “Over time, the lower-priced phones have tended to gain share versus the flagship phone, after the initial rush of dedicated upgraders to the newest device. So we expect that the 5c will account for a higher percent of total U.S. iPhone sales in the coming months, but the design changes may alter that dynamic. The iPhone 5c may appeal to different buyers than the legacy 4S did last year, or the new 5s will this year.”
