During its September earnings call, iPhone reported a record quarter. Despite growing sales, the average selling price of iPhones in the U.S. is declining. This isn’t the first time the iPhone has seen its average selling price drop, to be precise, it’s the second quarter in a row, amounting to the company’s worst performance so far in 2021.
CIRP shared data on its Substack titled “iPhone sales mix continues to drive average retail prices down.” In addition to the average selling price, the research firm also noted the weighted average retail price of iPhones in the United States. However, the full scope of the study does not include wholesale discounts given by Apple to retailers. However, the metric reveals the different iPhone models and storage capacities that end users are considering.
According to research, data from CIRP showed that the weighted average retail price of iPhones in the United States peaked at $988 in the March 2023 quarter. Since then, the weighted average price has declined for two consecutive quarters. Prices dropped $40 in June and another $30 in September. iPhone performance was relatively low compared to the previous year.
Currently, the average iPhone retail price in the U.S. is $918, matching iPhone performance in 2021-2022. The change in average price is due to older iPhone models. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are selling like hotcakes, as are the iPhone 14 Pro models. However, the iPhone 14 Pro models don’t perform as well as their predecessors, the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max.
The main change this quarter was in sales of year-old flagship phones that are being retired as their successors become available. The iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max models accounted for 23% of total sales, down from 37% for the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max models in the same period last year.
While iPhone average selling prices have been low over the past two quarters, it remains to be seen how the iPhone 15 series performs during the holiday season. This could significantly boost sales of this product range, deriving a new balance in average selling prices. However, these are just speculations at this stage, and device sales are likely to decline further in the next quarter.
