Apple's new iPhone 18 Pro series has surpassed its predecessor in global sales during its initial launch period, with strong demand in emerging markets like India and China driving the growth. A report from Counterpoint Research indicates that the iPhone 18 Pro lineup achieved 3.1% higher global sales in its first three weeks compared to the iPhone 17 Pro series during the same timeframe last year.
China emerged as the standout market for the iPhone 18 Pro, experiencing a remarkable 29% year-over-year sales increase. Counterpoint attributed this surge to improved early availability of the new models and strategic price adjustments by competing Chinese Android flagship phones, making Apple's offerings more competitive. The research firm noted that without China's strong performance, overall global growth would have been significantly weaker.
India: A Key Growth Engine for iPhone 18 Pro Sales
India also played a crucial role in the iPhone 18 Pro's success, with sales for the series rising an estimated 28% year-over-year in the first three weeks post-launch. This robust performance placed India just behind China in terms of growth, effectively balancing softer demand observed in established markets such as the United States and Japan.
Interestingly, Counterpoint's data for India and other emerging markets showed a preference for the standard iPhone 18 Pro model over the larger, more expensive iPhone 18 Pro Max. This trend suggests that pricing significantly influenced consumer choices in these regions.
Mixed Results in Developed Markets
While emerging markets excelled, the launch proved less successful in some major developed economies. Sales in the United States declined by 4% compared to the previous year, with consumers reportedly finding few compelling feature or design upgrades to justify the higher price points of the new models. Japan experienced an even steeper 27% drop in sales, largely due to currency fluctuations that amplified price increases and dampened consumer enthusiasm.
iPhone 18 Pro Max Remains Popular
Globally, within the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, the larger iPhone 18 Pro Max accounted for 56% of total sales. This figure represents a slight decrease from the 57% share held by the iPhone 17 Pro Max during its comparable launch period. Despite regional variations, the data underscores the continued resilience of Apple's premium-tier strategy.
These early sales figures offer a cautiously optimistic outlook for Apple, particularly given the importance of the Pro lineup to its overall iPhone revenue. However, Counterpoint's findings also highlight ongoing challenges related to pricing sensitivity and the uneven nature of international demand for its latest generation of smartphones. Apple has not yet released official unit-sales figures for the iPhone 18 Pro series, making third-party estimates like Counterpoint's vital for understanding early market performance.