{"id":53218,"date":"2026-09-16T12:53:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=53218"},"modified":"2026-09-16T12:53:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:53:22","slug":"iphone-17-model-popularity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/16\/iphone-17-model-popularity\/","title":{"rendered":"iPhone 17 Model Popularity"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Smith<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

Here’s the 17 family data as a percentage of overall usage for Widgetsmith. <\/p>\n

Generally they followed the usual adoption pattern, and overall did very well ending at around 20% of total usage. <\/p>\n

With the exception of the Air really struggling to find market share. For comparison the 16 Plus ended its first year at around 1.4% (vs the Air’s 0.3%).<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Matt Birchler<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

This works out to about 6% of my iPhone users using the iPhone Air, or about 20x more proportionally than David's more mainstream app. Honestly, the numbers are pretty striking here, with David showing a pretty even split between the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max, slightly decreasing in that order. Meanwhile, almost half of my users are on the Pro Max, another quarter are on the Pro, and the 17 is neck and neck with the Air. Clearly, my customers lean more enthusiast and are higher end buyers on average.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Nick Heer<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

The apparent unpopularity of the iPhone Air is not what caught my eye. Instead, it is the percentage of iPhone 17e users: 0.5% of Widgetsmith users, and something like 1–2% of the total iPhone 17 generation in Birchler’s.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

The iPhone 17e hasn’t been on sale for as long, though.<\/p>\n\n

John Gruber<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

In the entire year since the iPhone Air was announced, I’ve never seen Apple advertise it. No billboards, no commercials. It raises a chicken\/egg question: did no one buy it because Apple didn’t market it, or did Apple not market it because no one wanted it?<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

But the shame of these low iPhone Air sales reminds me, very much, of the late great iPhone 12 and 13 Mini — also a truly great design, also terribly disappointing sales numbers.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n