Apple’s iPhone 17 and 17 Pro Max are selling like hotcakes, while the iPhone Air ‘remains niche’

There are plenty of reasons for Apple to be happy with Counterpoint’s first estimate of iPhone 17 series sales, but also one big cause for concern.

What was largely an assumption prior to today has essentially become a certainty, as Counterpoint Research analysts believe one member of the latest iPhone family has struck gold at the Chinese box office during its first 10 days of availability. Meanwhile, a second model is setting the equally important US market on fire in the same timeframe, while a third one is… [content incomplete].

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### Survey: Have You Purchased a 2025 iPhone?

– Yes, the ‘vanilla’ iPhone 17
– Yes, the iPhone 17 Pro
– Yes, the iPhone 17 Pro Max
– Yes, the iPhone Air
– No, and I don’t have any intention of doing that
– No, but I plan to

Current poll results:
– iPhone 17 Pro Max: 50%
– No intention to buy: 25%
– Planning to buy: 25%
– Other models: 0%

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The world’s number two smartphone vendor can’t be content seeing the iPhone Air deemed a “niche” product likely to remain that way for at least a little while longer, especially after presumably investing millions into its marketing.

Is the ultra-thin experiment already over? For Samsung, reportedly yes. But Apple is essentially guaranteed to give the iPhone Air more time to “breathe”—possibly one or two sequels—before throwing in the towel.

After all, this was Apple’s approach with both the “mini” and “Plus” iPhones. If the first Air is even a bit more popular than the last Plus, that should be enough to buy time and goodwill.

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On the whole, the iPhone 17 series, presumably including the Air as well, has apparently exceeded Chinese and American sales of the iPhone 16 family during its opening 10-day window by 14 percent. This is a strong enough result to signal no big trouble on the horizon for Apple and no immediate reason for a major overhaul in 2026.

That said, many analysts expect 2026 to be the year the first foldable iPhone finally sees daylight. There’s also speculation that the “vanilla” iPhone 18 launch might move to spring 2027, making room for an entirely super-premium iPhone family next fall.

While this sounds risky—especially given the incredibly strong start of the base iPhone 17—unpredictable moves are not unheard of in the mobile industry. So, nothing is off the table yet.

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### What’s Next for the iPhone 17 Family?

The sky’s the limit for how successful Apple’s new iPhones can become over the next year, undoubtedly led by the A19-powered iPhone 17 with its dual 48MP rear-facing camera system and 256GB base storage.

We fully expect this model to continue outselling the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max worldwide, marking an important shift from last year’s iPhone 16 series.

You might not remember, but the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro actually outsold the “regular” iPhone 16 in 2024 before the latter surpassed both higher-end models to become the world’s top-selling smartphone in Q1 and Q2 2025.

This time around, it seems unlikely the iPhone 17 Pro Max (or even the 17 Pro) will outsell the base iPhone 17 for more than a couple of weeks, if at all, which might not be great news for Apple’s profit margins. But that’s simply how the market is leaning.

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**Related News:** FCC Approves Cingular’s Purchase of AT&T Wireless.
https://www.phonearena.com/news/apple-iphone-17-17-pro-max-strong-sales-iphone-air-niche-report_id174995

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