CIRP reports that its data shows early iPhone XS lineup sales are strong in the United States, and are split evenly between the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max. The two new models each accounted for 8% of U.S. iPhone sales during the ten days they were available in the 3rd calendar quarter of 2018.
In fact, that combined 16% share achieved in the final 10 days of the quarter meant that iPhone XS sales rivaled that of the entire quarter’s sales of each of last year’s models.
Other iPhone models also performed well during the third quarter, with the iPhone X accounting for 14% of sales and the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus tallying 16% and 17% of sales, respectively. All three of those models were available during the entire quarter.
Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder told 9to5Mac that direct comparisons to last year’s iPhone launch are difficult:
“The iPhone launch quarter is always tricky to understand, and this one is trickier than others. This year, Apple launched iPhone XS and XS Max, the two most-expensive models, at the end of the quarter. Last year, Apple launched the more-expensive iPhone X in the following quarter. So, during the quarter ending September 29, 2018, Apple had an unprecedented ten models to track.”
However, CIRP notes that iPhone XS and XS Max sales for the launch quarter were similar to those of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus a year ago.
CIRP also notes the the new models are giving a nice boost to Apple’s US average selling price (ASP). The firm uses a slightly different measure, known as the US Weighted Average Retail Price (US-WARP), which includes the discounts Apple offers to retailers and carriers in the calculations.
In the September 2018 quarter, CIRP calculates US-WARP at $796. This is up from $751 in the June 2018 quarter, and from $705 in the September 2017 quarter.
CIRP surveys 500 US Apple customers who made a major purchase during the quarter to come up with its data.