Recent market reports reveal that sales of the iPhone 8 are the weakest of any new Apple smartphone released in recent years – a fact which only increases pressure for forthcoming flagship device, the iPhone X, to deliver strong sales.
Many consumers are reportedly buying cheaper, yet older, smartphone models, or alternatively waiting for the iPhone X.
Josh Lowitz, Co-founder of Consumer Intelligence Research Partners states of the findings:
“They [Apple] signalled to their customers: Don’t buy the 8. Their customers listened”.
“Many consumers have decided the improvements in the iPhone 8 are too incremental to justify the higher price tag and instead opted to buy cheaper, older models or wait for the iPhone X”.
Reports state, a month after it began shipping, the iPhone 8 & 8 Plus only represented 2.4% of iPhones used worldwide. Localytics conducted the study, which analysed 700 million iPhones.
This is notably less than half the share notched by the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, a month after they started shipping.
Localytics states it is the lowest initial market penetration notched for a new iPhone, since at least 2014.
In Apple’s largest consumer market, the United States, the iPhone 8 & 8 Plus represents only 16% of all iPhone sales in the September quarter (according to Consumer Intelligence Research Partners).
In the same period last year, the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus represented 43% in the US, whilst the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus accrued 24% in the corresponding period during 2015.
Reports state similar underperformance has been noted in other major international locations.
