Over the past few weeks, the prevailing narrative surrounding the iPhone X has been that sales of Apple’s flagship device have been underwhelming. Not only have we seen rumors alleging that Apple in recent weeks has slashed iPhone X orders, disappointing revenue forecasts from some of Apple’s key suppliers has only fanned the flames of pessimism amongst analysts and industry observers.
With Apple’s earnings report for the March quarter now behind us, I think it’s fair to say that iPhone X sales are healthier than perhaps many were anticipating. Now this isn’t to say that iPhone X sales have been through the roof. After all, with iPhone sales only up about 2% year over year, it’s not as if Apple completely smashed existing iPhone sales records. Nonetheless, Tim Cook during Apple’s earnings conference call revealed that the iPhone X has remained the company’s best-selling iPhone model — week in and week out — since the device first launched back in November.
Of particular interest is that the iPhone X marks the first time in years that Apple’s top of the line iPhone has remained the company’s top seller.
“Since we split the line with the launch of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in 2014,” Tim Cook said, “this is the first cycle in which the top of the line iPhone model has also been the most popular.”
Cook added some additional detail about iPhone X sales when asked about the sustainability of the iPhone X’s pricey $999 starting price.
“On iPhone X specifically, Cook said, “I think it’s important to maybe emphasize again one of the things I mentioned in my opening comments, that customers chose iPhone X more than any other iPhone each and every week in the March quarter, just as they did following its launch in the December quarter.
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“The iPhone X is a beloved product. And so I think that it’s one of those things,” Cook added, “where like a team wins the Super Bowl, maybe you want them to win by a few more points but it’s a Super Bowl winner and that’s how we feel about it. I could not be prouder of the product.”
All told, Apple’s 2017 iPhone lineup helped the company achieve a new record with respect to overall financial growth measured across the December and March quarters, with Cook noting the following:
iPhone’s second quarter performance capped a tremendous fiscal first half with $100 billion in iPhone revenue, an increase of $12 billion over last year, setting a new first half record and achieving our highest first half growth rate in three years.
Ultimately, the iPhone X may not have helped Apple set any new quarterly sales records, but it’s still a far cry from being a disappointment.
