iPhone XR Accounted for an Estimated 32% of U.S. iPhone Sales in November

During the month of November, its first month of availability, the iPhone XR accounted for an estimated 32 percent of U.S. iPhone sales, according to new sales data shared today by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners.

Comparatively, the iPhone XS and XS Max, Apple's more expensive iPhones, were responsible for 35 percent of sales combined.

The iPhone XR sold similarly to the iPhone X during its first month of availability in November 2017, but it did not match sales of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, which were at 39 percent in November even after two months of availability.

Based on the initial sales, iPhone XR took the same share of iPhone sales as earlier models in their first month on the market," said Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and CoFounder. "Of course, comparisons are difficult, because of how Apple sequenced new model launches in the past two years. Last year, Apple launched the evolutionary iPhone 8 and 8 Plus first."

"This year, Apple launched the more expensive models earlier, presumably trying to catch early demand from the most loyal customers. The 32% share of iPhone sales for the XR model compares favorably to the 30% share for iPhone X in the similar timeframe last year, but lags the combined share of iPhone 8 and 8 Plus during that period last year. Then, the similarly-priced models accounted for 39% of units, and after they had been available for a month before the iPhone X was released."

According to CIRP, 82 percent of new iPhone buyers in November upgraded from an iPhone, while 16 percent upgraded from an Android phone. In November 2017, when the iPhone X launched, 86 percent upgraded from an iPhone while 11 percent upgraded from an Android device, suggesting the XR drew more switchers than the X did in the prior year.

CIRP's data was gathered from a survey of 165 Apple customers in the United States, which is not a large sample size, but it gives some insight into iPhone XR sales compared to sales of past devices because of the historical data CIRP has available from similar past surveys.