Fewer Buyers Choose the Fanciest iPhones

In the June 2023 quarter, we observed an interesting change in a long-time trend. In the US the average selling prices for iPhones basically keeps going up. For the first time since we began tracking US-WARP (weighted average retail price) in 2017, when Apple stopped disclosing its own Average Selling Price figure, US-WARP declined in a June quarter. It fell to $948 from $988 in the March 2023 quarter.

Two principal factors influence US-WARP, model mix and storage upgrades, as well as Apple’s pricing strategy, of course. This week we are digging into the model mix.

Though inflation has pushed up prices for much of what US consumers buy, iPhone prices have not changed since 2020. The Pro models and their X predecessors, which date back to 2017, have never seen a price increase. Despite Apple holding the line on price, economic pressure - or perhaps more problematically, changing iPhone buyer preferences - subtly moved US iPhone buyers away from the most expensive iPhone models.  

In the June 2023 quarter, iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus accounted for 36% of units sold in the US (Chart 1). iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max together accounted for 43%. In total, Pro models were more popular, but the ratio of Pro to base models showed signs of shifting.