40 MACWORLD JUNE 2019
iOSCENTRAL LESSONS APPLE CAN LEARN FROM iPHONE XRsales in the U.S. during the first quarter
of 2019. The iPhone XS and XS Max
make up another 21 percent combined
(leaning heavily toward the XS Max), and
the four older models (7, 7 Plus, 8, and
8 Plus) combine to account for the other
41 percent.
It’s our best view yet of the popularity
of the iPhone XR. Anecdotally, it rings true:
Of everyone I know who got an iPhone in
the last few months, most of them chose
the iPhone XR.
While CIRP’s report only covers U.S.
sales, it’s easily to believe that the iPhone
XR does at least this well against the
iPhone XS and XS Max internationally,
where there are even more price-
sensitive customers.
Apple doesn’t chase market share per
se, but if it wants to make phones that
Apple’s most expensive phones are never its best seller, but just look how dominant the iPhone
XR is!
people really want to buy, it should learn
these lessons from the success of the
iPhone XR.PRICE, PRICE, PRICE
Everyone complains about how Apple’s
stuff is too expensive, even for a premium
product. Apple constantly talks about the
value it brings, but a product you can’t
afford is a product you can’t afford, no
matter what value it holds. Apple has only
tacitly acknowledged that the price of its
products in some international markets is
because of exchange rates and tariffs, but
even here in the U.S., customers are
apparently overwhelmingly choosing its
least-expensive new phone.
CIRP’s report includes data from the
same quarter last year, where the iPhone 8
and 8 Plus each outsold the very