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Despite early reports highlighting the weak iPhone 15 sales, particularly in China, AT&T stressed that the new series made a huge impact on its business. According to the company’s Q3 2023 Earnings Call last week, it experienced “the strongest iPhone preorders” in September.
The news is good news for Apple, especially with fears that the iPhone 15 is not performing as great as its predecessor. This is made worse by Counterpoint Research’s recent report, claiming the Q323 iPhone global smartphone market share fell to 16% from the 17% share it had in Q3 last year. The number is part of a report showing the challenging smartphone market; however, the firm believes there will be an improvement in the future quarters with the help of different events, including “the full impact of the iPhone 15 series.”
Now, AT&T is echoing this, stressing how much iPhone 15 affected its September sales, aided by its plans.
“Our results show that our best deal for everyone approach continues to resonate with customers. For example, in September, we saw the strongest iPhone preorders we’ve had in many years despite competing promotions with higher subsidies allowing lower-value device trade-ins. This is a testament to both the simplicity of our offers and the strength of our consistent and straightforward value proposition, as well as the quality of our network.”
The statement reflects Counterpoint’s abovementioned forecast and its earlier belief that carrier companies will aid Apple’s sales growth. According to the research firm, this could allow Apple to snatch the top spot for annual shipments globally for the first time ever.
“… We’re watching Q4 with interest because the iPhone 15 launch is a window for carriers to steal high-value customers,” the firm shared. “And with that big iPhone 12 installed base up for grabs promos are going to be aggressive, leaving Apple in a good spot,” explained Jeff Fieldhack, Counterpoint’s Research Director for North America. “It’s the closest Apple’s been to the top spot. We’re talking about a spread that’s literally a few days’ worth of sales. Assuming Apple doesn’t run into production problems like it did last year, it’s really a toss up at this point.”
