Apple has discontinued what has often been called the “best iPhone model” — iPhone 7 256GB. In fact, reports suggest that Apple might have stopped selling this variant of the iPhone 7 on the same day as the iPhone 8 was launched – September 12. The move is hardly surprising, and Apple is keen to push sales of its newest offering that has had a slow uptick thus far. Both the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus have a 256GB variant, but ever since they launched, it is the iPhone 7 that has benefited most.
Earlier this month, data revealed that iPhone 7 was the most-selling smartphone in the world in the first half of 2017. And the second best-selling was the iPhone 7 Plus. Both models have received a price cut following the launch of the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus, thus leading to increased sales. One of the reasons why Apple’s newer models aren’t selling as much is because they offer very little newness compared to the older models. Wireless charging, which has been touted by Apple as the USP of the iPhone 8, has clearly not found a place in people’s consideration set. 
“Apple volumes will entirely be driven by the iPhone 7 for the next one year at least. The market will shape up like a pyramid with the iPhone 7 at the base of it,” Sanchit Vir Gogia, Chief Analyst at Greyhound Research, told BGR India in a prior conversation. Experts believe that there isn’t enough incentive for people to upgrade to the iPhone 8. “It isn’t a compelling product for people to buy. “Because it lacks the wow factor. There are just incremental additions to the iPhone 7,” he says. Moreover, the iPhone 7 after a price cut retails at $549 which is significantly lower than the iPhone 8 at $699. 
Top US wireless carrier AT&T stated that its third-quarter handset upgrades were fewer by nearly 900,000 from a year ago, and that is due to weak iPhone 8 demand. “Many respondents indicated that a meaningful portion of customers are buying iPhone 7 in lieu of the new iPhone 8, given the lack of significant enhancements in the new phone,” an analyst report stated. Apple knows where the problem lies. And by discontinuing sale of the most popular variant of the iPhone 7, it is making a last ditch attempt to make the iPhone 8 popular before the iPhone X hits stores next month.