“On Monday Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo issued a research note claiming that the iPhone XS Max is outselling its smaller XS sibling by a factor of 3-4,” Mark Hibben writes for Seeking Alpha. “The XS Max screen has been declared the Best Smartphone Display by DisplayMate after extensive testing… As good as the display of the XS Max is, I’m not convinced that it’s the only explanation for the stronger XS Max sales.”
“It’s possible that sales of the XS are lagging XS Max because there’s a lower cost alternative to the XS waiting in the wings, the iPhone XR,” Hibben writes. “The XR has about the same size screen, but uses lower resolution LCD technology. It has most of the desirable features of the XS, however, including an edge to edge screen, the TrueDepth 3D sensor for FaceID, and the Apple A12 processor. The XR lacks the dual camera system of the XS, however, but still enables Portrait Mode… I think the value proposition of XR is quite compelling, since it offers most of the features of the XS at a $250 discount.”
“If the XR has eaten into demand for the XS, as I suspect, then we could see it quickly sell out when pre-orders start on October 19,” Hibben writes. “The XR could prove the tech media wrong and drive iPhone unit sales to new heights, in the December quarter and beyond.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Dead on.
The Xs is a tough sell, especially to those of us who have iPhone X units and extra especially to those of us who always felt the X was a bit too small (narrow). We obviously want the Max.
As for everyone else, why would the hoi polloi choose the 5.8-inch iPhone Xs when they can get the 6.1-inch iPhone XR? They don’t know the difference between LCD and OLED, they have no idea what 3D Touch is, and it looks/works pretty much the same to them – plus it comes in colors (that they’ll immediately cover with a case; no matter, colors sell).
We have no idea who iPhone Xs is for. We’d be surprised if iPhone Xs even hits 10% of total iPhone sales. — MacDailyNews, September 17, 2018
Everyone on earth expects iPhone Xs Max to outsell iPhone Xs which, due to the existence of the XR, has a remarkably small target market in comparison to Apple’s other new iPhones. — MacDailyNews, September 24, 2018
SEE ALSO:
Analyst: Apple’s 6.5-inch iPhone Xs Max sold out over weekend, 5.8-inch Xs orders ‘very weak’ – September 24, 2018
How Apple can mitigate 6.1-inch iPhone XR cannibalization of 5.8-inch iPhone Xs – September 20, 2018
Ming-Chi Kuo: Apple Watch Series 4 pre-orders above expectations, 5.8-inch iPhone Xs seeing lackluster demand – September 17, 2018
And I won’t touch the XS cuz its too big. Talk about being on the wrong side of the trend…..
There’s a trend to smaller phones?
You can buy Finger Lengtheners. Sold on AliExpress.
It’s obvious surely the reason why? For those already with, desire or prefer the bigger iPhones this is both a 2 year wait for a top end option and a big potential Improvement over the available big phone option from last year. The XS on the other hand is only a minor improvement over the high end from last year so less of a market to address as the impact of the X last year would have already attracted much of its available market. It’s hardly rocket science the reviewers pretty much already said it for us.