Analyst: iPhone 8 and 8 Plus accounted for 16% of all US iPhone sales in the past quarter, compared to 43% for 7 and 7 Plus during the same period last year
Purchase data from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) suggests that the iPhone 8 is selling in smaller numbers than an ‘S’ model.
Context & Ripple Effects
CIRP's purchase data puts the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus at just 16% of US iPhone sales for the quarter, against 43% for the iPhone 7 pair over the same stretch a year earlier — and Canalys' shipment counts point the same direction, with 11.9M iPhone 8 units shipped in Q3 2017 versus 14M iPhone 7 units the year before. The obvious suspect is timing: the iPhone X was weeks away, giving upgraders a reason to hold off on an 'S'-class refresh.
The follow-on coverage confirms the deferral read — the iPhone X took roughly 30% of US sales in its first 30 days once it landed — and the pattern recurs in later cycles, with the cheaper XR becoming the best-selling iPhone at 39% of US sales and the small, lower-priced 12 mini stalling at 6% while the standard 12 took 27%. Where Apple places a model on the price ladder keeps deciding which one carries the quarter.
First-order effects
- US upgraders deferred 'S'-cycle purchases ahead of the iPhone X launch, leaving the 8 and 8 Plus with under half the share the 7 pair held a year earlier and thinning Apple's near-term unit mix.
Second-order effects
- Demand that skipped the 8 resurfaced as X sales once availability began, so Apple's revenue per sale likely rose even as the entry flagship underperformed — a mix shift rather than lost demand.
Third-order effects
- The recurring split across cycles — XR dominating at 39%, the 12 mini flopping at 6% beside the standard 12's 27% — points to a durable structure where each iPhone generation is carried by one volume model positioned at the right price, not by even distribution across the lineup.
The trend: US iPhone demand is consolidating each cycle around a single high-volume model whose success hinges on its price-tier placement, with premium flagships and undersized or overpriced variants ceding share.