Apple iPhone 8 variants are more popular than the iPhone X in US: Report

More and more people are buying iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus than the “super premium” iPhone X in the US, a new survey has revealed. [caption id=“attachment_4424735” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The special edition (PRODUCT)RED iPhone joins iPhone 8 finishes in space grey, silver and gold. Image: Apple[/caption] According to the research group Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), iPhone 8 made up 23 per cent of iPhone sales in the first quarter of 2018 and iPhone 8 Plus registered 21 per cent. “The iPhone X trailed at 16 percent, down from 20 percent the previous quarter,” CNET reported on 24 April, citing the survey’s findings. The survey also showed a trend among respondents toward buying past years’ iPhones. “During the same months of 2017, the brand new iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus accounted for nearly 70 percent of iPhone sales. This year, a lot more people are buying iPhones from one, two and even three years ago,” the report noted. Apple will announce its next quarterly earnings report on 1 May. In March, a top analyst with asset management firm Piper Jaffray said that unlike what Apple had expected, the response to iPhone X has been lukewarm as many existing users believe that the device is too expensive. “According to Apple news site PED3.0, Michael Olson, a senior researcher with Piper Jaffray found that 44 percent people who didn’t upgrade said that they baulked at the idea because their current ‘iPhone works fine’,” Fortune reported. More than a third of the respondents said that the iPhone X, which starts at $999, is too expensive. “And eight percent said they would have upgraded if the new phone had a larger screen,” the report added. Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with KGI Securities, said in March that the Cupertino-headquartered company would cease production of iPhone X mid-year. Apple is reportedly gearing up to introduce three new iPhones in 2018 and one of them will be more popular than the others, according to Kuo.