The iPhone 5S scooped up a healthy share of US iPhone sales last quarter by swaying buyers away from the 5C and 4S, according to a new report.
Based on a survey of Apple customers, research firm CIRP said on Tuesday that the 5S took home 59 percent of iPhone sales during the final quarter of 2013. In contrast, the 5C grabbed just 27 percent of sales, while the 4S ended up with 14 percent. The iPhone 5S was released in September.
Eyeing the same period in 2012, CIRP found that the newly launched iPhone 5 accounted for 50 percent of iPhone sales, giving the iPhone 4S a 32 percent share and the iPhone 4 an 18 percent share.
“The iPhone 5S appeared to take share from both the mid-priced iPhone 5C and legacy iPhone 4S,” CIRP partner and co-founder Mike Levin said in a statement. “In contrast, after the iPhone 5 launched a year ago, the iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 continued to sell strongly for many months. In the most recent quarter we also saw models with larger storage capacities sell better than before.”
CIRP’s findings were based on a relatively small number of consumers. The survey reached 500 Apple customers in the US who bought an iPhone, iPad, or Mac during last year’s final quarter. Apple is set to announce its earnings for the final quarter of 2013 later this month. Along with its financial results, it typically releases how many iPhones it sold overall in the previous quarter.
