Even after sluggish sales, iPhone X becomes most profitable phone for Apple

Meanwhile, India contributed to just one per cent of the total iPhone X shipments so far but the device was well received in the US market

Riding on 63 million shipments till August 2018, Apple's iPhone X is on track to be the most successful revenue and profit-generating iPhone ever, a Counterpoint Research report has said.

However, cumulative shipments of the iPhone X are lower than iPhone 6, which was its most-successful device, for a similar period since launch.

iPhone 6 shipped 30 million more units than iPhone X during its first 10 months of sales, so it missed the "Volume Super Cycle" but drove the Cupertino-headquartered giant's "Revenue Super Cycle".

According to Counterpoint's "Market Monitor" report, by comparison, during the iPhone 6 Super Cycle, Apple took only six months to achieve similar volume, post its launch in 2014.

"iPhone X drove a completely radical new design language that helped Apple to command a significantly higher Average Selling Price (ASP) at a point when the overall smartphone market was beginning to saturate," the market reseach firm said in a statement.

Apple has actually delivered a revenue super-cycle, posting record iPhone revenues and ASPs since the iPhone X launch.

"iPhone X is therefore also a factor in Apple becoming the first trillion-dollar company," Counterpoint added.

Meanwhile, India contributed to just one per cent of the total iPhone X shipments so far but the device was well received in the US market with demand reaching an all-time high during the initial months of launch.

"This shows in these large volumes' emerging markets, Apple needs to recheck its strategy if it wants to grow its user base or top-line," Counterpoint noted.

Apple rides iPhone profits to become the most profitable global brand in Q4

Apple iPhone X generated 35% of the total handset industry profit in Q4 2017. In smartphone segment, Apple achieved 86% of global profits. Latest news on Apple iPhone X, its pricing and market control

US-based technology giant Apple remained the most profitable brand in the fourth quarter of 2017-17, capturing 86 per cent of total handset market profits, according to a report by Counterpoint Research.

According to the report, Apple’s anniversary-edition smartphone iPhoneX alone generated 35 per cent of the total handset industry profits. This is a significant landmark, as the model was available in the market for only two months during Q4 2017. The premium flagship smartphone with notch-based screen generated five times more profits than the combined profits of 600-plus Android original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) during Q4 2017.

Apple iPhones, including the current flagships like the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, along with yesteryear’s flagships iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, led the list of top 10 smartphones that captured 90 per cent of the total handset profits. Other than iPhones, only Samsung’s Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8 Plus managed to feature in the top 10, at the sixth and eighth positions, respectively.

The report highlights that the older-generation iPhones like the iPhone 7 and iPhone 6 generated more profits than some of the more recent Android flagships from key Chinese OEMs. Chinese electronics giant and the world’s third-largest smartphone manufacturer Huawei became the leading brand among all Chinese brands, with its profit increasing 59 per cent year-on-year.

After its international unveiling on September 12, 2017, the Apple iPhone X was launched in India and other international markets on November 3. The anniversary-edition smartphone was priced at a premium – Rs 89,000 for the base model with 64GB storage and Rs 1,02,000 for 256GB storage variant.