Apple's making more money off the iPhone - even as it sold fewer of them

Apple sold fewer iPhones in the holiday quarter than it did a year earlier, a fact that in the past would have spooked investors and worried the company's fans. But not this time around. That's because even though it sold fewer phones, it made a lot more money off them.

Boosted by sales of the company's new flagship, the iPhone X, which starts at $1,000, the average price consumers paid for Apple's smartphones jumped through the roof in the period. As seen in this chart from Statista, which is based on Apple's data, the average price consumers are paying for iPhones has been on a steady incline - as has Apple's smartphone revenue.

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