New IPhone Sales Rates Consistent, but Services Adoption Varies, Says CIRP

The iPhone XS, XS Max and XR models launched last fall accounted for 59 percent of U.S. iPhone sales in the March quarter, reported Consumer Intelligence Research Partners Wednesday, with the lower priced XR at 38 percent. The researcher estimated the newest models had similar sales rates as last year’s newest models, at about 60 percent of total sales, at an average selling price of about $800, down from the December quarter. As Apple begins to emphasize services over hardware, “results are highly uneven,” said analyst Mike Levin. CIRP estimated 48 percent of U.S. users paid for iCloud storage in the quarter, 3 percent bought AppleCare support, 21 percent used Apple Music and 13 percent used the legacy iTunes music service. ICloud, which integrates easily with Apple devices and “solves a common storage problem at a modest cost,” had the highest penetration, CIRP said. AppleCare warranties “sell poorly,” against “intense competition” from mobile phone carriers, retailers and other warranty providers, said Levin. Apple faces similar competition in music from Spotify, Amazon, Pandora and others, he noted. Findings were based on a survey of 500 U.S. Apple customers who purchased an iPhone, iPad, Mac computer, or Apple Watch January-March.