Overall, the iPhone 14 models are a success. Even with Apple taking a month to release the iPhone 14 Plus, only the three available versions could outsell the entire iPhone 13 series a week after launch. That said, the iPhone 13 Pro Max was still the best-selling iPhone in September 2022, a year after its initial release.
CIRP published a comprehensive analysis of the iPhone sales data that Apple didn’t disclose. According to the publication, the report is based on a survey fielded in late September and early October, immediately after the end of Apple’s fourth fiscal quarter.
It covers consumer purchases in that quarter which included the first three weeks of sales for the new iPhone 14 models, including iPhone 14, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max. Along with these new models, Apple also announced the first Plus model in recent years, iPhone 14 Plus, but sales of that model did not commence until early October 2022, one week into the next fiscal period.
According to CIRP, the three available iPhone 14 models (14, 14 Pro, and 14 Pro Max) accounted for 21% of US sales. This is higher than the 16% of sales for the four iPhone 13 models launched in September 2021.
Highlighting individual models, the iPhone 13 Pro Max – released last year – had the largest share of any single model at 21% in September 2022. CIRP explains that this is due to the iPhone 13 Pro being available “for virtually the entire quarter, until the release of the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.”
All four iPhone 13 models together accounted for 56% of sales in the September 2022 quarter. Older models, such as the iPhone 11, 12, 12 mini, and SE combined, accounted for 21% of sales in the quarter.
CIRP highlights that the iPhone 12 mini and 13 mini accounted for 5% of iPhone sales, showing why Apple decided to retire this form factor and bet on a Plus model. In the future, CIRP will focus on customers’ storage capacity choices.
For now, the headline is, consumers continued their long-standing tendency to upgrade from base storage. For the new iPhone 14 models and the more expensive iPhone 13 Pro and 13 Pro Max, a majority of customers paid a premium for larger storage capacity phones.
More Apple Coverage: iPhone 14 Pro review: Welcome to the Dynamic Island
