The Zhitong Finance App learned that according to Counterpoint Research's “Weekly Smartphone Sales Tracking Report”, the Apple (AAPL.US) iPhone 18 Pro series achieved sales growth in the first three weeks after release. In the three weeks since their release in September, global sales of the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max increased by 3.1% year over year, up from three weeks after the launch of the iPhone 17 Pro series in the same period last year.
Weekly sales forecast (first 3 weeks after listing)
Comparison between iPhone 18 Pro series and 17 Pro series
Source: Counterpoint Research Global Smartphone Weekly Sales Tracking Report
Looking at regional markets, the 3.1% increase in global sales was mainly concentrated in specific markets. Among them, the Chinese market had the most outstanding performance, with a 29% year-on-year increase in sales. This is mainly due to a fuller initial supply compared to last year, as well as price increases for flagship competitor models from Chinese Android OEMs. If the contribution of the Chinese market were not taken into account, the increase in global sales would be even lower.
Sales in the US and Japan both experienced year-on-year declines, mainly affected by higher pricing compared to previous models. In the US, consumers generally believe that the new model has not brought significant improvements in functionality and design compared to the previous generation; in Japan, demand has shrunk as the exchange rate amplified the impact of price increases.
Weekly sales estimates by region (first 3 weeks after publication)
Comparison between iPhone 18 Pro series and 17 Pro series
Source: Counterpoint Research Global Smartphone Weekly Sales Tracking Report
The iPhone 18 Pro Max accounts for 56% of the iPhone 18 Pro series sales, which is slightly lower than 57% last year, mainly due to price increases and sales growth in emerging markets such as India and Southeast Asia, which is more biased towards Pro models.
Sujeong Lim, Deputy Director of Counterpoint Research, said, “Whether the strong performance in the Chinese market reflects sustainable demand or is due to consumers buying aircraft early will gradually become clear in the next few weeks. In the short term, two key factors are worth watching: whether sales can pick up in the US and Japan markets, and whether the iPhone Duo, which launched in week 43, can generate new demand rather than divert it from Pro Max.”
Tarun Pathak, research director at Counterpoint Research, said, “There are differences in the market performance of the iPhone 18 Pro series in different regions. We are continuously tracking weekly sales to see if market demand remains stable after the peak sales period subsides. This will also affect the performance of the fourth quarter holiday shopping season. The market environment facing this new product launch is clearly different from last year. Sales of the iPhone 17 series were strong last year, but this year, due to price increases driven by storage costs and macroeconomic uncertainty, consumers' willingness to upgrade their devices was curtailed, and the overall switching cycle was further extended. However, even single-digit sales growth is beneficial to Apple: with the strong iPhone Duo pre-order performance (demand currently exceeds supply), this will bring incremental switches to the Pro series and improve the revenue structure.”