January 24, 2025 – According to a report released by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) on January 22nd, the new iPhone 16 series has proven to be as popular as previous iPhone models released by Apple. However, CIRP warns that analysts should adopt a cautious, even pessimistic, view of the current market performance of the iPhone 16 series due to changes in sales structure.
Data from the fourth quarter of 2024 shows that the new iPhone 16 series accounted for 68% of total iPhone sales in the United States, slightly higher than the 65% share held by the iPhone 15 series in the December quarter of 2023. A breakdown of the sales figures reveals some interesting trends.
The iPhone 16 Pro Max captured 23% of sales, which is similar to the 26% achieved by the iPhone 15 Pro Max in the same period last year. Both the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro accounted for 16% of US iPhone sales in their respective December quarters. Notably, the iPhone 16 Pro series products accounted for 39% of US iPhone sales, marking the lowest share for high-end iPhones in the December quarter over the past five years.
On the other hand, the sales proportion of the iPhone 16 base model has increased significantly, jumping from 15% in the December quarter of 2023 to 21% in the same period of 2024. CIRP suggests that the strong sales of the iPhone 16 base model may be related to Apple Intelligence, but also points out that the proportion of iPhone base models has been steadily rising over time. For example, the iPhone 13 accounted for 12% of sales in the same period, while the iPhone 14 accounted for 16%.
Meanwhile, the combined sales share of the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models hit a five-year low in the US December quarter. CIRP raises several questions in response to this trend: Are Pro series users finding their existing devices sufficient and thus see no need to upgrade? Are potential Pro series buyers waiting for improvements in the iPhone 17 Pro series, which is expected to be released in September this year? Are high prices forcing potential Pro series buyers to switch to lower-priced non-Pro models?
At this stage, with the recent release of the iPhone 16 series, it is still too early to draw definite conclusions.
