The spot for the best selling smartphone tends to flip-flop between Samsung and Apple. According to Counterpoint Research, the Apple iPhone 8 is back on top as the best selling but the Galaxy S9 Plus isn’t far behind. Personally, I think that means Samsung will take the top spot in next month’s results.
These results are for the global top spot and Counterpoint says the iPhone 8 gained the advantage thanks to Apple’s aggressive marketing. As for the United States market, iPhone 8 sales remained steady as it’s the European market that saw a spike. Here are the bullet points from Counterpoint’s report.
- Samsung GS9 sales were slightly weak MoM in Europe, however, were steady in the US. (Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus was the best selling smartphone in April 2018 )
- Xiaomi gained momentum in its home market and continues its good performance in India. Xiaomi saw strong performances from its Xiaomi 5A and Xiaomi 5 Plus series. The company has good penetration in the mid-to-affordable premium market in China and we expect the newly launched Xiaomi 8 to become another best seller in the coming months.
- Xiaomi is expanding its offline presence with its new Mi Home and Mi Preferred Partner Retail in India. The contribution from offline sales increased from 30% in April to 35% in May 2018 in India. Xiaomi remains the leader in online channels in India.
Market Pulse: May 2018: Global Smartphone Model Sales Market Share (%)
- Huawei grew in its home market and India with P20/Lite series. Huawei’s P20 series combined (P20, P20 Pro and P20 Lite) share (2.6%) was amongst the top sellers, though only the P20 Lite actually breaks into the Top 10 list as an individual product.
- Vivo X21 gained good momentum with its in-display fingerprint feature. The device had heavy omni channel advertisements focusing on the ease-of-use of its fingerprint unlock feature and its design.
- Continuous brand promotions and price-cuts for the Oppo A83 helped the model maintain its good sales momentum. Oppo’s R15 and R15 Dream Mirror Edition gained traction in its home market as well.
I think the glaring point here is that the iPhone X is Apple’s flagship but still sitting only in 3rd place. Smartphone prices may have come to an apex at the $1,000USD mark. It will be interesting to see if buyers will continue to shun the high price and opt for lower cost models.
What do you think of Counterpoint’s research? Let us know in the comments below or on Google+, Twitter, or Facebook.
[button link=”https://www.counterpointresearch.com/global-best-selling-models-may-2018/” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Counterpoint Research[/button]
