iPhone 12 Became the World's Top 5G Smartphone Within Two Weeks of Launch

[MacRumors]

A new report published today by Counterpoint Research finds that the iPhone 12 became the world's bestselling 5G smartphone in October, in spite of its delayed launch.

Although the iPhone 12 was only sold for two weeks in October, it was still able to top the rankings. These two weeks' worth of sales allowed the iPhone 12 to become the seventh-bestselling 5G device sold between January and October of 2020.

The iPhone 12 Pro was the second-bestselling 5G smartphone, followed by the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G. Together, the iPhone 12 and 12 Pro captured almost one-fourth of total 5G smartphone sales in October.

Counterpoint credits a number of factors for the explosive success of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro compared to other existing 5G devices. For example, it is believed that there was significant pent-up demand for a 5G upgrade within the iOS user base. The uptick was also caused by strong carrier promotions within the United States, which accounted for over one-third of iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro sales for the month. Compared to most other 5G devices, the iPhone generally has a wider market coverage with availability in over 140 countries.

The iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro have also given a "much-needed" boost to the 5G smartphone market, which achieved its highest ever share of 24 percent in the global smartphone sales in October.

Sales of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro have more than doubled the penetration of mmWave-capable smartphones from five percent in September to 12 percent in October. Counterpoint highlights how this is likely to impact the telecoms industry, and speculates that it may facilitate Apple's future push into other sectors such as augmented reality or virtual reality:

This is important because it gives operators an incentive to deploy mmWave infrastructure rapidly. The high throughput and low latency provided by mmWave will help unlock the true potential of 5G. With the mmWave network and devices in place, it would lay a solid foundation for Apple to leverage the power of mmWave in segments like AR/VR.

Counterpoint expects demand for the iPhone 12 series to remain strong through the fourth quarter of 2020, particularly during the holiday season. The late launch of the devices is likely to push sales into subsequent months, thereby maintaining the momentum of sales into early 2021.

Article Link: iPhone 12 Became the World's Top 5G Smartphone Within Two Weeks of Launch

 

[4jasontv]

I can’t take this seriously without discussion of the mini. Best phone of the naughts.

 

[djcerla]

Receives 12 Pro Max > unboxes > switches 5G off.

 

[bbplayer5]

5G on verizon is exactly the same as LTE. Literally no difference in speed.

 

[yellow8]

Considering 5G devices are quite new, this is not a surprise, a new iPhone is always (almost) a success. No wonder it makes #1.

 

[MareLuce]

Love the flat sides. Appreciate that (almost) every time I pick it up.

 

[qianyizhen]

5G just got real

 

[supergt]

That’s when 5G got “real”

 

[Whathappened]

I can’t take this seriously without discussion of the mini. Best phone of the naughts.

Can’t take your comment seriously as the mini hasn’t even been launched in October.
Besides, the battery is way too small.

 

[midkay]

They were right in the keynote — iPhone is going to singlehandedly make 5G ‘real’.

Also, I find it strange how dismissive people are of 5G. Yes mmWave kinda sucks, unless you’re on just the right city block, but the increased speed and coverage with mid-band 5G is the real win. I get better speeds on T-Mobile already and it’s only going to continue improving.

 

[apparatchik]

I would pay extra for an iPhone 12 without a 5G chip... its a useless, energy inefficient, gimmick, LTE was already fast enough for video streaming at 1080p, gaming, banking, whatever your bound to do on the tiny screen and software limitations of a smartphone.

If you want to professionally live stream the olympics in 4K from your fan seat you might as well bring a production crew and not depend on your phone, as good as it may be...

 

[phenste]

Guess this angle worked out better than expected!

 

[jntdroid]

5G on verizon is exactly the same as LTE. Literally no difference in speed.

Maybe in your location. I’ve actually seen some pretty solid improvements in my area where LTE is often bogged down.

 

[bodonnell202]

I bought a 12, discovered 5G was actually slower than LTE where I live (about 1/3 the speed in fact). Screen was awful. Returned it.

 

[TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️]

Congratulations Apple! Job well done!!!

 

[phenste]

They were right in the keynote — iPhone is going to singlehandedly make 5G ‘real’.

Also, I find it strange how dismissive people are of 5G. Yes mmWave kinda sucks, unless you’re on just the right city block, but the increased speed and coverage with mid-band 5G is the real win. I get better speeds on T-Mobile already and it’s only going to continue improving.

midkay, may I ask where you (very generally) live? Asking from the Northeast, looking to get my phone bill cheaper, T-Mo has the CLEAR leg up in that regard. Their merger with Sprint also has me keeping my eye on them.

 

[bo-waleed]

I could have got it already if only it had 120 refresh rate.

I hope it happens next year.

 

[saronian]

5G on verizon is exactly the same as LTE. Literally no difference in speed.

5G on T-Mobile (in San Francisco Bay Area) is slower then LTE in all the areas I've tested.

 

[Weaselboy]

5G on verizon is exactly the same as LTE. Literally no difference in speed.

I'm in Southern California and I consistently see better 5G results with Verizon on my 12 Pro. I took just this a few minutes ago.

 

[David1964]

Receives 12 Pro Max > unboxes > switches 5G off.

I have the 12 Pro Max and don't even have a 5G sim card to support it.I don't have it in my area yet and when i do,I won't be rushing to get one.My existing 4G network is fast enough for my needs.It's also a bonus that we don't have that ugly antenna window on the side of the UK models.

 

[The Game 161]

too bad 5G is pointless for at least another year or two...we all knew apple would sell these in high volume as lets face it main android flagships don't really sell high end with great numbers anyway.

 

[jntdroid]

View attachment 1698731

I'm in Southern California and I consistently see better results with Verizon on my 12 Pro. I took just this a few minutes ago.

I'm the same in the DFW metroplex.

I'm seeing better latency across the board, and in some locations I'm seeing similar results to you, and in other locations I'm seeing pretty significant boosts. DFW is notoriously bogged down for LTE on Verizon, so this is a welcome change.

The only issue I've had is there have been a couple of places where I've lost service altogether while my wife's 11 has maintained service, albeit useless data speeds on her end. From what I've read elsewhere, this seems to be most common on Verizon and I'm thinking (hoping?) it's something they're continuing to tweak on the tower side as well as within the baseband software.

 

[Newjackboy]

And yet I cannot even enjoy 5G on my 12 pro max, because I use both sims simultaneously .,

cmon apple. Fix it

 

[DeepIn2U]

5G on verizon is exactly the same as LTE. Literally no difference in speed.

you do realize like LTE there is a progression of stages for data speeds, congestion management, etc. Give it a year or 2 and you’ll see real speeds and more battery drain.

Considering 5G devices are quite new, this is not a surprise, a new iPhone is always (almost) a success. No wonder it makes #1.

nah. Samsung has had a 1.2yr lead with 5 devices so no excuse. Networks started rollout at that time launch of SGS 20 5G.

5G just got real

I loathed the presentation but with this data well earned by Apple so there you have it.

 

[0924487]

I would pay extra for an iPhone 12 without a 5G chip... its a useless, energy inefficient, gimmick, LTE was already fast enough for video streaming at 1080p, gaming, banking, whatever your bound to do on the tiny screen and software limitations of a smartphone.

If you want to professionally live stream the olympics in 4K from your fan seat you might as well bring a production crew and not depend on your phone, as good as it may be...

5G is to use consumers money to fund the infrastructure, which will only benefit the future emerging businesses and investors. Self driving cars, smart city, smart glasses, etc.