The top-of-the line iPhone 15 Pro Max makes up close to half of shipments of the iPhone 15 series, according to a trusted market analyst.
This continues a trend from last year in which Apple’s most expensive model was also its most popular.
Buyers prefer iPhone 15 Pro Max
Android fans criticize iPhone as being too expensive but that argument is very weak. It seems cheap handsets aren’t what most people want. The lion’s share of iPhone buyers choose the premium model over the cheaper iOS alternatives, while Apple has the majority of the U.S. smartphone market.
“The iPhone 15 Pro Max will still account for 40–45% of iPhone 15 shipments in 1H24,” predicted Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with TF International Securities, late on Sunday.
As noted, this isn’t a new phenomenon. The iPhone 14 Pro Max topped worldwide smartphone sales in the first half of 2023. To be clear, it wasn’t simply the most popular handset from Apple — it was the bestselling model from any phone-maker.
iPhone 14 Pro came in second place last year, so it’s possible the iPhone 15 Pro is again the second most popular option.
Not always true
The iPhone Pro models always offered more features than the cheaper options, but the “basic” version usually sold better. Then Apple made the differences more stark with the iPhone 14 series, and that continued with the iPhone 15 series. The latest Pro and Pro Max have a faster processor, much better cameras and the new Action Button.
The differences are enough to make the iPhone 15 Pro Max the most popular choice.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
