The iPhone 15 series unit sales for the first 17 days in China is underperforming last year’s iPhone 14, a reflection of the broader decline in consumer spending, a report showed on Tuesday.

Excluding the iPhone Plus model, which was released three weeks late last year, sales declines exceeded 10 per cent in China, according to preliminary data from Counterpoint Research.

The data, however, is in contrast to early US numbers coming in which reflect robust demand across all models, especially the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

“China’s headline numbers for the 15 series are in the red, and this is a reflection of the broader decline in consumer spending,” said analyst Mengmeng Zhang. 

However, the shorter pre-holiday shopping period coupled with supply mismatches on the Pro Max (with consumers shying away from blue) could push some of the demand to calendar Q4, the analyst added.

Early US numbers are in stark contrast to China, with the first nine days of iPhone 15 sales showing double-digit increases in overall unit sales and healthy demand across Base, Pro and especially Pro Max models.

“The US is hot right now with back-to-back stellar weekends for the new iPhone. Overall reception of the 15 series has been very positive and we’re expecting a major upgrade cycle from iPhone 11 and 12 users,” said Jeff Fieldhack, Research Director for North America. 

“Of course, we’re talking about the first couple weeks of sales, but it’s a positive sign and takes a lot of sting off the China numbers,” Fieldhack added.