Apple’s iPhone X has been slammed by reports that demand for the handset is sluggish. But a new report suggests it tops in profitability.
The flagship Apple handset nabbed 35% of the smartphone market’s profits during the fourth quarter, market researcher Counterpoint reported on Tuesday. The iPhone X was the most profitable smartphone on the market, topping Apple’s iPhone 8, which captured 19.1% of the industry’s worldwide profits, according to Counterpoint. The iPhone 8 Plus landed in third place with 15.2% profit share.
In total, Apple’s handsets, ranging from the budget-friendly iPhone SE to the expensive iPhone X, earned 90% of the industry’s profits during the fourth quarter.
Apple released the iPhone X in November to considerable fanfare. The device delivers one of the biggest updates in Apple’s history with an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screen that nearly covers its face. There’s no physical home button or fingerprint sensor in the iPhone X, and its the first Apple handset to ship with the company’s Face ID face scanner. It’s also Apple’s most expensive handset with a starting price of $999.
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While Apple hasn’t disclosed iPhone X sales figures, industry pundits and analysts have cautioned that sales have been sluggish due to “flagging” demand. According to several reports, consumers are chiefly concerned with the iPhone X’s lofty price tag. Other consumers have decided to hold on to their current devices a little longer rather than upgrade now, according to some industry reports.
But the Counterpoint report is a bit of good news for Apple and the iPhone X. And despite some increasing competition from Chinese smartphone vendors like Huawei and Oppo, Apple apparently continues to reign supreme. In fact, according to Counterpoint, the iPhone X alone generated five times more profit in the fourth quarter than all of the profits generated from more than 600 Android device vendors during the same period.