iPhone XR, XS or XS Max? The best-selling Apple handset may surprise you

The iPhone XR has become the scapegoat for slowing iPhone sales since its launch in October, but according to one analyst it is faring much better than its flagship stablemates.
A new report from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners reckons the more affordable iPhone XR model accounted for 39% of all iPhone sales during the last three months of 2018, despite its release not coming until October 26.
Comparatively, the iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, released more than a month earlier, combined for just 25% of the total sales, during the quarter.
The iPhone XS Max also outsold the XS by two to one, despite its higher cost, according to the report (via 9to5Mac). That’s likely because iPhone X users saw little reason to upgrade to the XS, while the Max pushed the series to new levels with its display size.
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Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder offers some insight: “The three new models made up 65% of sales, compared to 61% for the iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X a year ago. The mix among the new phones is interesting, however. The single iPhone XR model almost matched the combined iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in the same quarter last year.
“iPhone XR also had the largest quarterly share for a single model, at 39%, in the past couple of years, since the then-new iPhone 7 in December 2016, even though it was available only for part of the quarter. iPhone XS and XS Max together.”
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Whether these figures are accurate or not remains to be seen, but this is probably the closest we’ll get to a breakdown on the 2018 models. Apple reveals its overall iPhone sales during any given quarter, but never gives a model-by-model indication of how devices are selling.
The company has already warned of slowing sales for the forthcoming quarterly report, which is likely to show a sharp decline in iPhone sales based upon previous release cycles.
The company has blamed slowing interest in China, and hinted the cheap battery replacements offer that ran throughout 2018 may be a factor in users deciding not to upgrade. Apple will deliver the earnings call on January 29, with investors holding their breath. At least, for the poor old iPhone XR, it won’t be getting the blame.
Are you an iPhone XR fan, who thinks the device gets a bad rap? Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.