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Apple's U.S. iPhone User Base Sees Slowing Growth in Q1 2019

Apple's estimated U.S. iPhone installed base saw little growth in the first calendar quarter of (second fiscal quarter) of 2019, according to new data shared today by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP).

As of March 30, 2019, the U.S. iPhone use base hit 193 million units, compared to 189 million units at the end of the December quarter, marking two percent growth quarter over quarter.

Apple's iPhone user base was at 173 million units at the end of the March 2018 quarter, for year over year growth of 12 percent, which is not bad, but not quite hitting the growth rates of prior years.

A year ago, the installed iPhone user base in the U.S. grew four percent quarter over quarter and 19 percent compared to the prior year, indicating a plateau iPhone user base.
"The US installed base of iPhones continues to plateau," said Josh Lowitz, CIRP Partner and Co-Founder. "Relative to the most recent quarters, and especially to the past two or three years, slowing unit sales and longer ownership periods means that the growth in the number of US iPhones has flattened considerably. Of course, 12% growth in a year, after years of much greater growth is still good. However, investors grew accustomed to quarterly growth of 5% or more, and annual growth of almost 20%. This continuing trend prompts investors to wonder if iPhone sales outside of the US will compensate, and places greater pressure on Apple's determination to sell other products and services to the installed base of iPhone owners."
CIRP's estimated U.S. iPhone installed base is based on estimated worldwide iPhone sales of 39 million, calculated from Apple's iPhone revenue and average iPhone selling price for the quarter ending in March 2019.

iPhone sales have slowed down, and in January, the decline in sales over the holiday period led Apple to make the rare move of lowering its expected revenue guidance. Apple also saw a dip in revenue in the second fiscal quarter (first calendar quarter) of 2019, bringing in $58 billion, compared to $61.1 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Apple has never provided a specific breakdown of the number of active devices in the United States, but earlier this year, the company said there were 1.4 billion active devices around the world. 900 million of those devices are iPhones.


Top Rated Comments

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18 weeks ago
Considering that there is 327 million people in the US. 50 million are 11 years old or below (don't know many people who are buying phones for their 9 year old).… That means roughly 70% of the phone buying population in the US owns an iPhone. I don't think you can expect bigger increases after hitting that landmark.
Rating: 43 Votes
18 weeks ago


That's not a conclusion that you can reach based on the data provided. It would be like saying Apple has over a billion active devices worldwide therefore they have over a billion users worldwide.
Rating: 17 Votes
18 weeks ago
There's a finite number of people who can afford these things.
Rating: 16 Votes
18 weeks ago

What app?

"What's App"
"That's what I asked, what app?"
"I just told you - What's App"
"Now look, what's the name of the app that caused your phone to heat up?"

cc: Abott and Costello
Rating: 15 Votes
18 weeks ago
I guess that's what happens when the price goes from $500 to $1300 in the span of a few years.
Rating: 14 Votes
18 weeks ago

For the average consumer, what does Apple have that the competition sorely lacks nowadays? Having FaceID did not make consumers switch to an iPhone. My phone does not have the feature, but if it did it will be the first thing to disable/bypass. A passcode is more secure than a thumbprint or FaceID. Think about it for a minute!

For the average consumer:

1. iOS

2. Tight integration/sharing data between Apple iOS/macOS/watchOS/tvOS apps.

3. Outstanding premium devices that many millions of satisfied repeat customers are willing to open their wallets and purchase year after year after year.

4. Excellent and highly rated customer service.

5. Frequent software updates.

6. Apple placing high regard on privacy and security.

7. Various Apple services that work well with devices.

8. Apple Stores.

9. Relatively decent resale value.

That's just a few that quickly come to mind.
Rating: 14 Votes
18 weeks ago
Weird it’s almost like infinite growth, the cornerstone of the current world economy, is not actually possible and we’re approaching a massive market crash
Rating: 12 Votes
18 weeks ago
Considering how dominant the iPhone is, it’s not really a surprise the market is saturated. Also, It’s not just the iPhone, it’s smart phones in general that have been on the decline. The inflation with smart phones in general has pushed the consumer to keep their devices longer, a smart phone is not something that _needs_ to be upgraded every year.
Rating: 12 Votes
18 weeks ago
I'm happy with my X. My recent issue of potential overheating was fixed by uninstalling and reinstalling just one app. I don't plan to upgrade this year and maybe even next.
Rating: 12 Votes
18 weeks ago

Is anyone really surprised that people are upgrading less frequently? My previous employer supplied me with a new iPhone every year at it's release (we tested iPhone accessories)... I stopped upgrading at the 7 Plus, and have been using that model since it's release. It's worked fine and pretty much has met my needs since then... about the only complaint is the battery could be replaced at this point. This is the first year though since the 7 Plus that I've considered upgrading, and that's really more because I'd like to have the new upcoming camera...

Bolded: I was just saying that above, that it’s not a surprise at all consumers are not upgrading, why would they need to when their current smart phone does everything they require and more? It’s not the technology isn’t necessarily compelling, it’s the price points that is suffocating the technology that the consumer doesn’t find interesting. Those are all mutually exclusive tangents affecting smart phone sales.
Rating: 11 Votes

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