In the contest to be the world’s most popular smartphone, it seems the only competition that Apple has is itself with the company’s iPhone 11 taking over the mantle from the iPhone XR in Q1 2020. Samsung retained second spot with the Galaxy A51.
Despite the impact of coronavirus on consumer demand, Apple’s iPhone 11 shipments in Q1 exceeded total iPhone XR shipments during Q1 2019 by nearly six million units, according to the latest smartphone data from research firm Omdia.
“For more than five years, amid shifting conditions in the wireless market and the global economy, one thing has remained consistent in the smartphone business and that is Apple has taken either first or second position in Omdia’s global model shipment ranking,” research director Jusy Hong said.
“Apple’s success is the result of its strategy to offer relatively few models. This has allowed the company to focus its efforts on a small number of products that appeal to a broad selection of consumers and sell in extremely high volumes.”
According to Omdia, Apple managed to strike the right balance of pricing and features on the iPhone 11, ensuring its appeal.
Samsung’s Galaxy S20+ 5G was the only smartphone from the company’s flagship line to make the top-10, as other Samsung models listed were mid-range and low-end devices.
Samsung’s 5G model was the silver lining for the company with the Galaxy S20+ 5G taking the crown among 5G smartphones shipped worldwide in Q1 with Huawei’s Mate 30 5G and Mate 30 Pro 5G in second and third spots.
However, with the COVID-19 pandemic, this smartphone market is expected to contract in 2020 as the pace of the 5G expansion slows down in many countries. One exception is China, where the smartphone market has been recovering rapidly since March. With aggressive promotions of 5G smartphones by Chinese OEMs, Omdia expects the 5G smartphone rankings will soon be dominated by Chinese OEMs.