iPhone 5s Outsells iPhone 5c by ~3.5x in Launch Weekend According to Analytics Data

While Apple announced record-breaking iPhone launch weekend sales of nine million units earlier today, the company did not break down relative sales of the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c. Analytics firm Localytics has, however, shared some data on usage, revealing that among U.S. users the iPhone 5s is being seen 3.4 times as often as the iPhone 5c.

In less than 3 days, the iPhone 5s and 5c combined now represent about 1.36% of the total numbers of all iPhones activated in the U.S. market across the top 4 carriers AT&T, Verizon Wireless, Sprint and T-Mobile. From the data we are seeing, 1.05% of all iPhones in the United States are now iPhone 5s and just 0.31% are iPhone 5c. That means that the iPhone 5s outshines the 5c by a factor of 3.4x, a clear indicator that the early adopters are favoring the high-end 5s compared to 5c.

iphone_5s_5c_share
International data shows a similar pattern according to Localytics, with iPhone 5s usage outpacing that of the iPhone 5c by 3.7x, with some countries such as Japan seeing ratios of as high as 5x.

While Apple made the iPhone 5c available for pre-order and has had fairly strong stocks of the device in its retail stores, the iPhone 5s has seen significant shortages, with online orders through Apple's U.S. store currently being quoted October shipping estimates. Gold and silver iPhone 5s models have been in particularly short supply, with even Apple's own retail stores having almost no supply of those devices on launch day.

The disparity in popularity between the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c is unlikely to persist over the long-term, as the iPhone 5s is more likely to be the device of choice for early adopters who made the effort to purchase the device on the launch weekend, while the lower-cost iPhone 5c will likely improve its relative performance over time as the bulk of customers who are likely to be more budget conscious purchase new phones as they become upgrade eligible.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
iOS 26

iOS 26.4 and iOS 27 Features Revealed in New Leak

Friday December 12, 2025 10:56 am PST by
Macworld's Filipe Espósito today revealed a handful of features that Apple is allegedly planning for iOS 26.4, iOS 27, and even iOS 28. The report said the features are referenced within the code for a leaked internal build of iOS 26 that is not meant to be seen by the public. However, it appears that Espósito and/or his sources managed to gain access to it, providing us with a sneak peek...
iOS 26

Apple Releases iOS 26.2 With Alarms for Reminders, Lock Screen Changes, Enhanced Safety Alerts and More

Friday December 12, 2025 10:10 am PST by
Apple today released iOS 26.2, the second major update to the iOS 26 operating system that came out in September, iOS 26.2 comes a little over a month after iOS 26.1 launched. ‌iOS 26‌.2 is compatible with the ‌iPhone‌ 11 series and later, as well as the second-generation ‌iPhone‌ SE. The new software can be downloaded on eligible iPhones over-the-air by going to Settings >...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
macOS Tahoe 26 Thumb

Apple Releases macOS Tahoe 26.2 With Edge Light

Friday December 12, 2025 10:08 am PST by
Apple today released macOS Tahoe 26.2, the second major update to the macOS Tahoe operating system that came out in September. macOS Tahoe 26.2 comes five weeks after Apple released macOS Tahoe 26.1. Mac users can download the macOS Tahoe update by using the Software Update section of System Settings. macOS Tahoe 26.2 includes Edge Light, a feature that illuminates your face with soft...

Top Rated Comments

applesith Avatar
160 months ago
Higher priced phone is more popular? More evidence pointing to why Apple does not need to make a "cheap" phone.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
cube Avatar
160 months ago
Higher priced phone is more popular? More evidence pointing to why Apple does not need to make a "cheap" phone.

No, evidence that the 5C is not cheap enough.
Score: 48 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pancakedrawer Avatar
160 months ago
Hopefully Apple realises that they priced the iPhone 5C too high and we actually get the low-cost iPhone we all wanted.
Score: 41 Votes (Like | Disagree)
jrswizzle Avatar
160 months ago
If people think about this, it isn't all that surprising.

What type of person will be waiting in line for a new iPhone - the type who wants the latest and greatest, aka the iPhone 5S.

Down the line, however, the 5C will likely catch up in popularity as those looking for a "cheaper" upgrade could go for the colorful, durable 5C option.

Way to early to call the 5C a fail or flop as we have no yet reached the time period/consumer base for which the phone was intended.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
AppleWarMachine Avatar
160 months ago
Maybe because the 5c is an iPhone 5 wrapped in colored plastic :eek:
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Adelphos33 Avatar
160 months ago
First weekend sales will skew heavily towards the latest phone - that said, 2-3 mn 5C sold is a big win for Apple. At the end of the day, the margins are likely similar, so Apple is probably agnostic towards the split
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)