Apple’s newest pair of updated smartphones, which were made available in the U.S. on September 25, are selling at paces comparable to their predecessors. The iPhone 6S accounted for 24.4 percent of iPhone sales in the three months ending in October, according to Kantar Worldpanel. This was down from the iPhone 6’s 33 percent share in the same period in 2014 but better than the iPhone 5S’s 22 percent share in 2013.
The iPhone 6S Plus accounted for 10.8 percent of iPhone sales in the three months ending in October. The iPhone 6 Plus had a 10 percent share of overall iPhone sales in the same period in 2014 and the iPhone 5C had 16 percent of iPhone sales in 2013.
Research isn’t a priority for many iPhone buyers in this period, as 42 percent of those who purchased one of the new iPhones did not conduct any research before doling out the money to make their buys. In the same period in 2014, 37 percent of purchases said they did no research before buying the iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.
The size of the screen was the most important decision factor for 52 percent of iPhone 6S and 6S Plus buyers, while 42 percent pointed to the camera quality and 31 percent pointed to LTE.
The trajectory of iPhone 6S and 6S Plus sales is pointing up, based on historical sales for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 6.
In a separate post, Kantar Worldpanel reports that the iPhone 6S is the third best-selling smartphone in the U.S.
