According to Counterpoint Research’s Market Pulse, Apple dominated the global smartphone market sales, with six models out of the top ten models in 2019. Sitting on the pedestal is the iPhone XR, the top-selling model globally, capturing a 3 percent market share.
Impressively, the iPhone 11 raced to second spot globally, despite being in the market for only four months. This indicates the impact of the new iPhone series during the important holiday season in Q4 as well as the success of Apple’s pricing strategy for its lower end models.
The 2018 flagship iPhone 8 made it in sixth position, with the iPhone 11 Pro Max, iPhone 7 and iPhone XS Max trailing.
Samsung had three models in the top 10, although what’s interesting is that all of them were from the revamped mid-tier A series. Headlined by the Galaxy A50, the Galaxy A10 and Galaxy A20 proved that Samsung’s mid-tier strategy is working. What’s worrying though, is the absence of any of its flagship models, be it the Note or S series.
OPPO’s A5 is the only Chinese challenger in the top 10, replacing Xiaomi’s position from 2018. The OPPO A5 was also the top-selling model in China.
Things look a little different when broken down into regions. OPPO topped sales in APAC, while EMEA and LATAM were Samsung strongholds. Apple captured all five spots in North America, with the combined share in the region topping 30 percent, the highest among all regions.
The iPhone XR was the only model to capture double-digit market share in any region.
Glaringly missing in any of the markets outside of China was the second-largest global smartphone player, Huawei. With the US trade ban imposed, it’s no surprise Huawei models were absent in markets outside of its homeland. The Huawei P30 laid fifth in the China market behind OPPO and Vivo models.
Up and comer realme entered the top five in the Rest of APAC region for the first time with its budget C2 model. Realme was the fastest growing brand globally for 2019 (426 percent year-on-year growth).
Will the iPhone continue to lead the pack in 2020? With another budget smartphone from Apple in the form of the much-rumoured iPhone SE 2 expected to launch soon, we might see a different contender for the top spot this year. That said, the global COVID-19 pandemic impact cannot be disregarded as it is expected to disrupt the smartphone industry, among others.
