Global sales of the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max came in 3.1% higher than the iPhone 17 Pro over their first three weeks on shelves, according to a research note from Counterpoint Research shared with AppleInsider. The headline number sounds like good news for Apple. The regional breakdown tells a messier story.
In China, iPhone 18 Pro sales were up 29% year over year in that same three-week window. Counterpoint credits two things: Apple simply had more stock of the new model available than it did for the iPhone 17 Pro at launch, and price increases from local Android rivals made the iPhone look more attractive by comparison.
The US and Japan pulled the other way
Sales in the US were down 4% year over year. Counterpoint's note frames this as buyers not finding enough reason to upgrade, but the firm also points to a more likely explanation: some number of would-be iPhone 18 Pro buyers are simply waiting for the iPhone Duo, Apple's newer device in the lineup, instead.
Japan fared worse. Sales there fell 27% compared with the iPhone 17 Pro, which Counterpoint attributes partly to higher iPhone prices made worse by unfavorable exchange rates.
Across every market, the iPhone 18 Pro Max kept its usual lead over the smaller Pro model, accounting for 56% of combined sales this cycle, against 57% for the iPhone 17 Pro Max last year. That's a near-identical split, suggesting buyer preference for the bigger phone hasn't shifted much.
Why the launch structure matters
This year's rollout was different. Apple released only the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and the iPhone Duo at launch, pushing the standard iPhone 18 to an early 2027 release instead of bundling it in with the rest. Counterpoint associate director Sujeong Lim says it's too soon to know what that staggered approach means for demand, calling China's early strength potentially "front-loaded buying" rather than something durable.
Lim says Counterpoint is also watching whether the iPhone Duo's later arrival ends up pulling sales away from the iPhone 18 Pro lineup, or whether it creates new demand that wouldn't have existed otherwise. That answer won't be clear for weeks.
Not everyone agrees on what any of this means for Apple's bottom line. One analyst cited in the reporting argues the split launch cost Apple sales it won't recover, a claim that sits oddly against the seasonal nature of iPhone buying, where purchases spread across months rather than disappearing. Separately, reports that Apple has cut iPhone 18 Pro orders have circulated, though JP Morgan analysts have pushed back on those claims.
For now, the iPhone 18 Pro's global number looks like a win on paper. Whether that holds once the iPhone Duo settles into a full sales cycle is the question Counterpoint says it's still trying to answer.
MDFiled by The Mobile Desk
Phones from leak to launch to price cut: what was announced, what it costs where, and when it goes on sale. Indian launches and prices included, not appended.
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