What this bar graph says about iPhones

From MarketWatch’s How iPhone buying patterns have changed over time, in one chart.

New iPhone models remain popular months before Apple launches its next lineup, while the iPhone 6 has seen a ‘resurgence’

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A greater portion of iPhone buyers are choosing phones from Apple’s latest line than chose from the then-most recent line a year ago, according to research from M Science, which looks at alternative data such as mobile-device activations.

In other words, iPhone buyers in May were more likely to pick one of Apple’s newest iPhone models than iPhone buyers last May were, the analysts said.

“We didn’t see that in the first six months of the lifecycle,” said M Science analyst Matt Goodman, whose firm tracks monthly sell-through of iPhones across the world. For much of the current iPhone cycle, the latest lineup underperformed the prior lineup on a relative basis. The mix shift toward newer devices “has positive implications for ASPs,” Goodman said, referring to the iPhone’s average selling price.

My take: This is a bar graph that rewards closer study. For fun, trace the red band that snakes through three and half years, starting in. 2014. That’s the iPhone 6, Apple’s first 4.7-inch, launched in Sept. 2014. It was spared the iPhone 6 Plus “bendgate” stink (grey band).  It nearly died in 2016 when it was discontinued in most countries. It two new leases on life: One, in Feb. 2017, when it was relaunched in Asia as a midrange/budget phone. And a second last December with Apple’s $29 battery replacement program. As of May 2018 it was going strong.

Click to enlarge.