From the worst-selling model in Q1 2023, iPhone 14 Plus becomes the sixth best-selling phone

Despite being Apple's worst-selling model in Q1 2023, the iPhone 14 Plus is still one of the best-selling mobile phones. Apple was rigorously criticised for its decision to oust smaller iPhone models in favour of the iPhone 14 Plus, which offered more screen real estate.

A new study from PerfectRec recently revealed that the iPhone 14 got the lowest 5-star ratings ever. The iPhone 14 Plus, on the other hand, has managed to perform sufficiently well in the market in Q1 2023. However, that doesn't imply Apple will not adopt an all-new strategy to launch the long-rumoured iPhone 15 Plus later this year.

iPhone 14 Plus: The worst-selling iPhone model

According to a report by Wccftech, the iPhone 14 Plus was Apple's worst–selling model in the first quarter of 2023. Notably, the Plus model sales did not meet the company's expectations. Still, the iPhone 14 Plus turned out to be the sixth–best–selling mobile phone.

So, let's understand the reasons behind the poor sales of the iPhone 14 Plus, and how it became one of the best-selling handsets despite its poor reception. A Techclusive report suggests the iPhone 14 had display panel shipments of 40 million units in Q1 of 2023. This wasn't an improvement from the iPhone 13 series, which recorded display panel shipments of 40 million units during Q1 of 2022.

Apple iPhone 14 Plus sales

In other words, the iPhone 14 Plus failed in terms of meeting the American tech giant's sales expectations. Earlier this year, the folks at Apple Insider pointed out that soft iPhone sales will hit the company's Q1 2023 finances. Moreover, UBS analysts claim strong currencies against a weaker dollar probably helped the company's finances.

As far as Apple's Q1 2023 financial results were concerned, UBS forecasted that Apple shipped 79 million iPhones. While this was slightly less than the 80 million consensus, it is still higher than the "street low" of 74 million. During the December quarter, the COVID lockdowns led to "significantly long wait times" for the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max.

A commercial failure

The iPhone 14 Plus wasn't received well due to multiple factors. Moreover, a report by The Verge suggests the iPhone 14 Pro supply problems affected the company's holiday revenues. To make things worse, Apple warned that the flagship iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone Pro Max have "longer wait times." So, both handsets weren't available for purchase during the holiday shopping season.

However, the stock has now leveled out. Furthermore, the Plus model does not boast an impressive array of features like the other models in the iPhone 14 lineup. Apple also spared no effort to widen the gap between the Pro and non-Pro models. For instance, the iPhone 14 Pro, and Pro Max got the classic Always On Display functionality with the iOS 16.2 update last year.

Sales ranking

Apple's iPhone 14 Plus has surprisingly bagged the sixth spot in the list of best-selling handsets. According to an Android Authority report, iPhone 14 Pro Max, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 14, and iPhone 13 were in the first, second, third, and fourth spots, respectively. Similarly, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 14 Plus were in the eighth and sixth spots, respectively.

Also, the list includes six Samsung devices including the Galaxy S23 Ultra, which took the fifth spot, outperforming the iPhone 14 Plus. The only foldable on the list, the Galaxy Z Flip 4 winded up in tenth place. Aside from this, the top 15 comprised the Galaxy S21 FE (15th), Galaxy S22 (12th), Galaxy S23 Plus (ninth), and Galaxy S23 (seventh).

Now, there's a lot of hype surrounding the iPhone 15 series, which is expected to include the iPhone 15, 15 Plus, 15 Pro, as well as an iPhone 15 Ultra model. However, it will be interesting to see whether the non-Pro models will gain popularity among iPhone fans this time. In the meantime, all iPhone 15 series models have been subject to a lot of leaks.