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

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.

33 Comments

blastdoor 3564 comments · 15 Years

About 6 years ago

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 397 comments · 8 Years

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

rotateleftbyte 1630 comments · 12 Years

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

MacPro 19836 comments · 18 Years

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 3430 comments · 10 Years

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.