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Tsepz

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Original poster
Jan 24, 2013
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Johannesburg, South Africa
Well this made for a very interesting read regarding global shipments, the XR tops the list, and amongst many low to mid end Androids you the iPhone XS Max in the mix to, yet not a single top end Samsung in there, not even the Galaxy S10E.

Thoughts?
While global rankings of smartphone vendors are something many market research firms put together every three months, it seems to be a little harder to determine the exact shipment numbers of individual models and compile a chart of the most popular devices in the world based on that. One of the few such reports released of late comes from IHS Markit (via Cnet), unsurprisingly ranking the iPhone XR at the top of the year's H1 list, ahead of two unexpected Samsung challengers.

Apple's most affordable 2018 iPhone variant racked up an estimated 13.6 million unit sales during the first quarter of 2019 and an additional 13.3 million between April and June for a first-half total of 26.9 million units. That's not particularly shocking to hear, as the 6.1-inch LCD screen-sporting handset previously topped the US best-selling lists of January and Q2 2019.

But because this new report measures worldwide sales figures, the iPhone XR is followed in second place by an Android device you can't actually buy stateside and in third place by one that reached US shores towards the end of the year's first six months. We're talking about the low to mid-end Galaxy A10 and the upper mid-range Galaxy A50, the former of which sold an impressive 13.4 million copies in the January - June 2019 timeframe, while the latter gathered a solid 12 million sales of its own. And now you know the real reason why Samsung's numbers recently bounced back without generating profit growth.

Speaking of popular handsets that don't exactly boast hefty profit margins, the iPhone 8 was ranked fourth on the same H1 2019 best-selling list, with 10.3 million units, followed by Xiaomi's Redmi 6A and Redmi Note 7, Samsung's modest Galaxy J2 Core, the Oppo A5, Apple's iPhone XS Max, and the Galaxy A30. No sign of either Samsung's latest or previous flagships, and interestingly, no top ten placement from Huawei either, even though many analysts claimed the company's results were not severely impacted by political tensions.
From PhoneArena: https://www.phonearena.com/news/apple-iphone-xr-best-selling-smartphone-h1-2019_id118738

Here’s the chart:
63ef62776d4197484666b7fdd5fe6775.jpg

From CNet: https://www.cnet.com/news/iphone-xr-topped-all-other-phones-in-the-first-half-of-2019-report-says/
 
It’s interesting that the best selling Android phones are all mid to low range devices. I wonder why android oems fail so badly to compete with apple at the high end?
 
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This is what really shocks me, I expected to at least see the S10E in there, or even the S9.

Yeah you would think so, people can bash Apple sales all they like but still selling 9 million max phones in a first half of the year ? Still good
 
Wow...not surprised the lowest priced iphone is the top selling phone to be honest.
Didn't see a Huawei phone on that list. I guess people value privacy and security.

63ef62776d4197484666b7fdd5fe6775.jpg
 
I wonder if this is why they are going to name this years iPhone's with the "Pro" name? the XR is the general iPhone that sells the most, is also the one most people will buy. After that there is the "Pro" iPhone for those that want more.

Kind of like they do with the iPad now, there's the iPad then there is the iPad Pro.
 
I wonder if this is why they are going to name this years iPhone's with the "Pro" name? the XR is the general iPhone that sells the most, is also the one most people will buy. After that there is the "Pro" iPhone for those that want more.

Kind of like they do with the iPad now, there's the iPad then there is the iPad Pro.

The challenge Apple had with the iPhone XR was it was supposed to be viewed as the mainstream iPhone by consumers. Basically, it was the replacement for previous flagship devices with a similar price tag. Whereas, the iPhone XS series was supposed to be ultra-high-end iPhones that go beyond normal flagship devices.

Instead, the iPhone XR was viewed as the "affordable" phone with significant compromises, and the iPhone XS series was viewed as the replacement for previous flagship devices i.e. the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Apple is trying to correct this viewpoint with a change in their marketing strategy. The iPhone 11 will get equal treatment like the iPhone 7, and the iPhone XS will now become "pro" models that are beyond the normal flagship devices of the past.

It's an interesting change in strategy considering how well the iPhone XR sold, but Apple may feel that many consumers passed on purchasing iPhones all together due to this perception, and they are probably right. I'm sure this strategy will at least correct public perception to an extent, but it doesn't help that the 2019 iPhones are rumored to be such minimal upgrades compared to the 2018 models.
 
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The challenge Apple had with the iPhone XR was it was supposed to be viewed as the mainstream iPhone by consumers. Basically, it was the replacement for previous flagship devices with a similar price tag. Whereas, the iPhone XS series was supposed to be ultra-high-end iPhones that go beyond normal flagship devices.

Instead, the iPhone XR was viewed as the "affordable" phone with significant compromises, and the iPhone XS series was viewed as the replacement for previous flagship devices i.e. the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus. Apple is trying to correct this viewpoint with a change in their marketing strategy. The iPhone 11 will get equal treatment like the iPhone 7, and the iPhone XS will now become "pro" models that are beyond the normal flagship devices of the past.

It's an interesting change in strategy considering how well the iPhone XR sold, but Apple may feel that many consumers passed on purchasing iPhones all together due to this perception, and they are probably right. I'm sure this strategy will at least correct public perception to an extent, but it doesn't help that the 2019 iPhones are rumored to be such minimal upgrades compared to the 2018 models.

It's an interesting point. I have been wondering who the iPhone "Pro" is going to be aimed at, I didn't upgrade last year so I'm still using an iPhone X. For someone who takes semi regular photos on holiday and the occasional family photos are Apple going to be aiming the "Pro" at people like myself or will they will aiming the iPhone 11 in my direction.

I'm happy with my X, the only reason I think I will upgrade if for better battery life and a bigger screen, I loved my iPhone 7 Plus before I got the X. But the OLED screen while nice, is kind of wasted on me since I don't use my iPhone to watch content (I have an iPad Pro and Apple TV for that).

I will wait and see what they show off at the keynote, but if it's not much of an upgrade, i might just stick with my X for another year.
 
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It’s interesting that the best selling Android phones are all mid to low range devices. I wonder why android oems fail so badly to compete with apple at the high end?

Well in Samsung's case. They release two flagships a year. The S line and the Note. I personally stopped buying both flagships, and just buy one flagship a year. And recently those lines have become fragmented into differ versions. IMO, this doesn't help Samsung.

People can buy the lastest iPhone, and know they have the latest iPhone for a whole year. That perception makes consumers feel like they got their money's worth. In the Android world, that's not the case, and especially with companies that releases multiple flagships a year.

I truly think it's time for Samsung to release one flagship a year, but one with a S-Pen and one without. Just call it the Galaxy. The pricing of phones changes everything nowadays.

The Galaxy A10 and A50 I think is highly popular in India and surrounding areas, which has a huge population. So that's no surprise.

I think the XR did so well, cause it's a lower cost (still not cheap) iPhone that has Face ID.
 
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