iPhone X handsets make up over 2 percent of the iPhone active installed base, just three weeks after it was released on November 3, according to research conducted by IHS Markit. The countries with the highest rates of adoption are markets with high gross domestic product per head, like Singapore, Denmark, Switzerland, and Japan.

According to IHS, countries where "Plus" models have been popular show a strong correlation with initial adoption rates for iPhone X, because consumers in those markets are more interested in larger displays and dual-lens camera technology, and are willing to spend more to get them.

In the US, iPhone X adoption after three weeks matched the adoption of iPhone 8 Plus and beat early adoption levels for both the iPhone 8 and 7 Plus. Only the iPhone 7 model had greater initial success. In Japan, initial iPhone X adoption was as good as or better than any recent iPhone launch, and matched the level of the iPhone 7.

Production constraints appear to have had little effect on early uptake of iPhone X, which is said to be "very similar" to adoption of previous flagship iPhones launches over the same period, said IHS analysts.

Apple is set to enjoy its best ever year for iPhone, according to IHS, with year-on-year increases in iPhone shipments over the next four quarters. In the fourth quarter of 2017, IHS Markit forecasts Apple will ship 88.8 million iPhones, which would be the highest number of iPhones ever to be shipped in a single quarter.

Shipping 31 million iPhone X units would cause the iPhone average selling price (ASP) to exceed US$700 for the first time in the iPhone's 10-year history, assuming total shipments in the quarter amount to 88.8 million.

Shipping estimates for the iPhone X continue to improve in many countries. In the United States, iPhone X models ordered today will arrive in just about a week, while several European stores list delivery dates of December 12. In line with IHS Markit's analysis, KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo earlier claimed that improved iPhone X shipping estimates are due to better-than-expected improvements in production, rather than a lack of demand for the new device.

(Via DigiTimes.)