The expensive iPhone 14 Pro Max is also the most popular

The iPhone 14 Pro Max’s high price tag isn’t scaring away buyers, according to a report by Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo. In a summary report compiled after the first weekend of the iPhone 14 being on sale, Kuo says the iPhone 14 Pro Max has made up 30-35% of total iPhone 14 family sales, making it the single most popular of the new phones. 

If you’re considering an iPhone 14 but you’re not sure which model to buy, we walk you through the differences in our guide to the best iPhone for you.

The two A16 Bionic-based iPhone Pro models are together proving more popular  than the two models based on the older Apple A15 Bionic chip, the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus. Kuo says the Pro and Pro Max will account for 60-65% of sales for this sales period, which is slightly higher than his own original estimate of 55-60%. 

One of the two A15 iPhones, the iPhone 14 Plus is currently only available for pre-order, and isn’t scheduled to start shipping until October 7. It’s unclear how Kuo has come by his sales data, as Apple does not share sales data broken down by individual models – Kuo has in the past used informal checks of the Apple Store web page as a basis for guesswork. 

Kuo says the mix of iPhone product sales is improving, and that will be a good thing for Apple in the long run. The analyst points out that the beneficiaries of Apple’s sales bonanza will include the manufacturers of each individual component and sensor that goes inside the phone, including Samsung Display, which makes the screen, and Sony, which makes the new 48MP camera.

Analysis: In a gold rush, sell shovels

As we are still getting to know our iPhone 14 devices, and as we look forward to the next generation, we’re pleased to see Apple selling a good mix of devices, and also the slight dominance of iPhone 14 Pro models. What we really want is for the next generation iPhone 15 to get as many of the Pro features as possible – and the more Pro devices Apple sells, the more likely that becomes. 

Going back to Kuo’s point about component makers, those fancy iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island displays cost more to make than the cheaper notch display on the iPhone 14 – until, that is, Samsung Display and others start making enough of them that the scale of production brings down the cost. 

That means we’re more likely to see the Dynamic Island, and possibly other Pro features, like the 48MP camera, on the base-model iPhone 15 if Apple can sell enough iPhone 14 Pros and Pro Maxs with those features this year.