Apple iPhone X is big commercial success but iPhone 6 performed better

Apple took a big leap of faith by introducing an ultra expensive iPhone X. The experiment did pay off for the company which recently crossed $1 trillion valuation. The polarising iPhone X emerged as the top-selling phone for Apple. A new report from Counterpoint Research confirms iPhone X's success but also points out the expensive phone failed to re-create iPhone 6's magic.

"Cumulative shipments of iPhone X reached 63 million units within ten months of its launch ending August 2018. By comparison, during the iPhone 6 Super Cycle, Apple took only six months to achieve similar volume, post 2014 launch. iPhone 6 shipped 30 million more units than iPhone X during its first 10 months of sales, so iPhone X missed the "volume Super Cycle"," said the Counterpoint Research.

The report highlights that iPhone X sales were driven by the Western market while the phone saw muted response in emerging markets where Android players dominate. For instance, demand for iPhone X picked up in China quite late. Apple's iPhone X fared poorly in India where the phone crossed the ₹1 lakh mark, keeping many users at bay. According to the report, India contributed to just 1% of the total iPhone X shipments so far.

"This shows in these large volumes' emerging markets, Apple needs to recheck its strategy if it wants to grow its user base or top line," the report added.

But does it mean iPhone X was a failure? Well, despite Apple iPhone X's slow demand in countries like India, the phone did very well globally.

"Revenue of iPhone X alone was higher than each of the top five smartphone brands except Samsung in the past ten months. The brands were Huawei, OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi. Going forward, we expect Apple to command even higher average selling price (ASP) with the rumoured three new iPhone launches this time," said the Counterpoint report.

Apple will showcase new iPhones on Wednesday. The company is expected to introduce as many as three new iPhones, including a low-cost LCD model. This variant is speculated to be priced between $650 to $750 (₹46,000 approx). The phone is likely to be available in India at much higher price.

"With the introduction of a cheaper LCD model and higher-priced OLED models, the iPhone mix for Apple is likely to drive even more revenue as it enters a refreshed product cycle," added the report.