Malcolm Owen
Apple's iPhone sales in the United States were down in July despite overall market growth, but the iPhone 15 Pro was a bright spot for the company's shipments.
The iPhone is the most popular smartphone brand in the United States, and has been for quite some time. However, in July, a report indicates that Apple's smartphone lineup stumbled while others flourished.
The US smartphone market as a whole saw sales grow year-on-year by 5%, according to Counterpoint. This was driven by growth from Samsung and Motorola, not from Apple.
By comparison, Apple saw its share shrink 4% year-on-year, which Counterpoint thought was due to low summertime upgrade rates. It's not as bad as it sounds, as it means a drop from a 53% share to 49% over the two years.
Even so, there was a good sign for Apple. Sales of the iPhone 15 Pro were up "in double digits" for the period. With overall sell-through down, the improvement in the "high-value, high-margin" iPhone 15 Pro continues and ongoing theme of consumers opting for premium models.
The comments follow after a July 31 report showing that the iPhone 15 Pro was the third-most-popular smartphone in the world in terms of Q2 sales, at 3.1%. It was behind the iPhone 15 Pro Max with 3.7%, and the iPhone 15 with 4.1%.
The premium model uptick is always a welcome incident for analysts, as it shows consumers are more willing to pay for the higher-priced and higher-specification option.
With the advent of Apple Intelligence and the strong possibility it will catalyze sales, this all indicates Apple has good prospects ahead for its top-selling products.
Marko Zivkovic
Andrew Orr
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2 Comments
I often wonder how easy it is to manipulate these stats? Sell through vs. actual purchase? How careful are they with that?