Omdia: Apple shipped 26.5M iPhone 14 Pro Max phones in H1 2023, the most out of any model from any manufacturer; Apple had all four of the top-shipping models
- Last year, the iPhone 13 was the bestselling device on the market, indicating consumers were still buying flagship devices but at the entry level rather than the top end.
Context & Ripple Effects
The result marks a shift from the prior cycle, when the iPhone 13 led sales and demand appeared concentrated at the entry point of Apple’s flagship range. Here, the highest-end Pro Max model leads while Apple occupies all four leading model slots.
Later coverage shows this was not an isolated ranking: Apple went on to hold seven of the global top-selling models in 2023, and the iPhone 15 Pro Max led the following first quarter as Pro models grew to half of Apple’s sales.
First-order effects
- Apple gains immediate validation for positioning its most expensive iPhone as a volume product, rather than relying chiefly on lower-priced flagship variants.
- The four-model sweep concentrates current flagship-model demand around Apple’s lineup, leaving other manufacturers without a model in the leading group reported by Omdia.
Second-order effects
- Rivals, especially those competing at the premium end, face pressure to make their top-tier models more compelling at scale rather than treating them as niche halo devices.
- Apple has more room to sustain a Pro-led product mix; the later increase in Pro phones’ share of its sales suggests this shipment result aligned with a broader mix shift.
Third-order effects
- If premium models continue to win volume as well as price, smartphone competition may be decided more by a small number of globally scaled flagship lines than by a broad spread of individual models.
- The pattern points to further concentration in best-selling handset rankings around the vendors able to translate premium positioning into repeatable global demand, though rankings can still change from cycle to cycle.
The trend: The smartphone market is showing a premiumization trend in which top-end flagship variants increasingly carry mass-market shipment volume.