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Apple’s lower-cost iPhone SE is gaining more traction than expected with users, tempering a sales decline and soothing investors’ concerns about growth. The shares rose the most in 18 months.

The $399 handset garnered a healthy dose of criticism when it was unveiled in March. It was still too expensive to be attractive in emerging markets, and had the potential to reduce profitability in developed economies because customers would prefer it to more expensive, higher-margin models, nay-saying analysts said at the time.

Yet the SE proved to be a bright spot in the company’s earnings report Tuesday. Though the company forecast sales would fall for a third consecutive quarter, the $45.5 billion to $47.5 billion range for the current period was better than most analysts estimated. The revenue decline in the three months that ended in June was also smaller than projected, in part thanks to consumers embracing the new phone model.

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