iPhone XR tops US iPhone sales during June quarter as 2019 models loom

The iPhone XR took 48% of U.S. iPhone sales during the June quarter, according to CIRP research estimates published on Monday, suggesting that buyers are indeed concerned about price.

That share is the "highest we've seen for an individual model since the iPhone 6 in 2015, which shared top billing with the 6 Plus, but only had two outdated legacy models offered as alternatives," CIRP commented. "Apple set out to create a competitive model, with current features like a large screen on a midsize handset, at a price that falls near the leading Android phones."

In fact the XR's share is believed to have surpassed what the iPhone X and 8 Plus achieved together in the same quarter of 2018.

The current iPhone lineup, the XS and XS Max included, is said to have composed 67% of Q3 2019 sales. The three-year-old iPhone 7 and 7 Plus continued to represent a significant share, though they were each outsold by 2017's 8 and 8 Plus.

CIRP further claimed that 35% of U.S. iPhone owners are subscribed to Apple Music, and that 48% are on some level of paid iCloud storage plan. 15% are said to be using Apple News, though the firm didn't specify how many are paying for Apple News+.

"Success in services has varied, depending on the competition and how much of a head-start Apple has," wrote CIRP co-founder Mike Levin. "After Apple discontinued iTunes, Apple Music is its unified music service, yet its 35% share still puts it behind Spotify and Pandora."

Apple is just two months away from revealing 2019 iPhone models. These may lose 3D Touch, but gain triple-lens rear cameras on the successors to the XS and XS Max, and twin lenses on the XR's follow-up. The latter may also sport new colors.

20 Comments

1STnTENDERBITS 460 comments · 8 Years

About 5 years ago

Best iPhone bang for the buck imo. I am getting 2 of these for my daughters on Cyber Monday. They will be an even better bang for the buck then.

lmac 212 comments · 14 Years

It is a no brainer that this model will outsell the top of the line XS and XS Max, because it is well, I was going to say affordable, but let's revise that to less expensive. The question is how much better is it selling than the premium phones Apple makes? A lot of people are willing to just run up the credit card and get the best thing out there. Status I guess.

Elitegate10 2 comments · 5 Years

I don't know which phones Xr owners previously had, but why the Xr? Why not the 8 Plus or X? I had the choice last year between 8 Plus and Xr and went with the 8 Plus. I don't mind the 828p display, but i definitely wanted 3D Touch and Optical Zoom with the Dual Camera. Yes the A12 clip is slightly faster and also the camera quality on the Xr is slightly better, but do you notice? Most consumers won't even know the difference between the chipsets. However so many are complaining that the Xr won't feature Live Wallpapers due to the lack of 3D Touch.

red oak 1104 comments · 13 Years

lmac said:

It is a no brainer that this model will outsell the top of the line XS and XS Max, because it is well, I was going to say affordable, but let's revise that to less expensive. The question is how much better is it selling than the premium phones Apple makes? A lot of people are willing to just run up the credit card and get the best thing out there. Status I guess.

A lot of us can afford the very best without “running up the credit card” as you snarkly put it.

But go with whatever makes you feel better about your personal financial situation

2770 Lorca 14 comments · 6 Years

1STnTENDERBITS said:

Best bang for the buck. I am getting 2 of these for my daughters on Cyber Monday. They will be an even better bang for the buck then.

I agreed, while many pundits and experts keep telling everyone about the camera, lenses, and blah, blah, and the competition; the reality is that out of 1000’s of pictures taken, barely a 5 per cents are loaded to social networks, including personal emails. The truth is that those pictures are looked at less than 5 seconds, therefore, being wasted using memory, and advanced lenses and photography software. A professional uses, right, personal equipment, so why wasting money with useless expertise knowledge purchasing camera features that WON’T be used? The price for what the XR iPhone is, with the given the technology, the best in the market.