Так, например, Counterpoint сообщает, что в апреле смартфоны Samsung Galaxy S9 и S9 Plus стали главными бестселлерами, опередив "юбилейный" Apple iPhone X. Причём спрос на оба флагмана Samsung примерно одинаков: каждый из аппаратов занял по 2,6% доли мировых продаж.
iPhone X опустился на 3-е место с долей 2,3%. Такой же показатель и у iPhone 8 Plus.
В первой десятке лидеров также оказались iPhone 8, Xiaomi Redmi 5A, iPhone 6, Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus/Note 5, iPhone 7 и Galaxy S8. На эти 10 моделей пришлось почти 20% всех глобальных продаж.
Почти одновременно с Counterpoint другая аналитическая компания IHS Markit обнародовала результаты продаж по итогам 1-го квартала 2018 года. Здесь ситуация оказалась не менее интересной. Вслед за лидерами iPhone X и iPhone 8 идёт модель Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime+ 2016 года, что весьма нетипично для первой тройки. Обычно на столь высокой позиции оказываются более свежие модели. Тем не менее это несомненный успех разработчиков Samsung, которым удалось создать столь привлекательную "долгоиграющую" модель.
5-е место Galaxy S9+ и 7-е Galaxy S9 объясняется тем, что они поступили в продажу под конец 1-го квартала и, естественно, не могли претендовать на более высокие позиции. Также следует отметить успех Galaxy On5 (2016), занявшего 6-е место, а также Galaxy J7 (2017), который замыкает почётную десятку лидеров глобального рынка.
Counterpoint: Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus becomes the best selling model surpassing iPhone X
According to the latest research from Counterpoint’s Market Pulse, Samsung’s Galaxy S9 series became the best seller globally, pushing Apple’s iPhone X to the third spot. The sales of Galaxy S9 series improved, driven by performance in APAC and NAM.
Xiaomi continues to make its presence felt in the top selling smartphones globally and grabbed the sixth and the eighth position with its Redmi 5A and Redmi 5 Plus / Note 5. This is the first time Xiaomi grabbed two positions within the top ten model list. Xiaomi grew both in China and India due to its affordable smartphones.
*Apple declined month on month due to seasonality. Apple continues to dominate the global best-selling smartphone models occupying five spots in the list.
*Demand of Apple iPhone 7 remains strong in APAC and NAM regions.
*Samsung price cuts on older Galaxy S8 series along with aggressive marketing and cashback offers, easy EMI’s amongst other factors drove sales for premium flagships.
*Top ten bestsellers are skewed either towards the premium segment or the entry level segment.
IHS Markit: iPhone X Led Global Smartphone Unit Shipments in Q1 2018
As global smartphone shipments reached 345.5 million units in the first quarter of 2018, Apple iPhone X was the leading model, with 12.7 million units shipped. According to business information provider IHS Markit, iPhone 8 ranked second, shipping 8.5 million units, followed by the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Plus, iPhone 8 Plus and Galaxy S9 Plus.
“Apple has secured the first and second ranking for the most-shipped smartphone model for many years,” said Jusy Hong, director of consumer devices, for IHS Markit. “The iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 7 ranked first and second in the first quarter last year. Apple and Samsung maintained the same ranking as last year — replacing existing models with the latest models from this year.”
However, overall shipment volume of new models declined for Apple this year. The company shipped 35.6 million combined units of iPhone 7 Plus and iPhone 7 in the first quarter of 2017, but the combined shipment volume of this year's top two models declined to 21.2 million units. “Although Apple’s newest model shipment volume declined, the company announced good earnings in the first quarter, mainly because of price increases in the iPhone 8 series and the super-premium price of the iPhone X,” Hong said.
The number of sale-priced iPhone models is on the rise, which means Apple is selling more older models. To increase the share of its latest models in the total iPhone sales volume, Apple is likely to expand its iPhone X form factor to new three new models, which are expected to launch in the second half of this year, including two models with AMOLED displays and one with an LCD panel. “Manufacturers are keen on displays, because they are a visible upgrade that can be easily monetized with consumers,” Hong said. “These upgrades will also increase Apple’s share of new models this year.”
The latest flagship models of Samsung’s Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9 Plus ranked fifth and seventh, respectively, in the quarterly “Smartphone Model Market Tracker” from IHS Markit. Samsung released its new flagship models in March this year, while its earlier models were released in April 2017. The most-shipped smartphone model from Samsung is the Galaxy Grand Prime Plus, a low-tier smartphone released in November 2016. This model was the second most-shipped smartphone model in 2017 and it continues to sell well this year.
Chinese smartphone manufacturers have grown their global smartphone market share. However, few individual models from these manufacturers reach comparable scale with Apple and Samsung models. Delay of new model releases from Huawei, Xiaomi and Vivo is one reason there aren’t any smartphone models from Chinese manufacturers in the top 10 list.