iPhone SE Drove Nearly 20% of iPhones Sales During June Quarter: CIRP

Consumer Intelligence Research Partners’ research on Apple during the fiscal quarter that ended June 2020 has revealed that while the flagship iPhone 11 and 11 Pro/Pro Max models accounted for 65% of US iPhone sales, the new iPhone SE 2020 accounted for an impressive 19% of sales during the period.

CIRP also found that nearly 73% of iPhone SE buyers have upgraded from an iPhone model more than four years old. And even though operating system switching has diminished in recent years, even more SE buyers came from within the iOS installed base compared to buyers for other iPhone models.

“Every few years Apple comes out with a new low-priced iPhone, with up-to-date features, to sweep up the customers using the oldest iPhones,: said Mike Levin, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder. “iPhone SE seems to have reached this specific segment of long-time iPhone users.”

“In the quarter, SE buyers had really old phones, with almost three-quarters having an iPhone that was three years old or more. So, they upgraded from iPhone 5, 6, or 7 models, which meant these users really waited awhile to buy a new phone. These are users who evidently resisted upgrading to newer phones at more attractive price points, such as iPhone 11, last year’s iPhone XR, and even the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus, which launched in 2017, as its prices declined over the years.”

CIRP has based its findings on its survey of 500 US Apple customers that purchased an iPhone, iPad, Mac computer, or Apple Watch in the April-June 2020 period.