Latest research finding from Counterpoint’s Market Pulse April Edition, has shown that Apple’s iPhone X remained the best-selling smartphone in March, dominating the whole first quarter to be the number one smartphone. The sales of iPhone 8 Plus improved during March, due to a push from Apple making it the second best-selling smartphone globally.
Meanwhile, Xiaomi’s Redmi 5A became the best selling Android smartphone in March, a first for Xiaomi. Redmi 5A was also the third overall best-selling smartphone model in March.
Oppo’s mid-segment smartphone the A83 continues to do well in the market since its launch in January. It captured the 4th spot in the global best-selling model list.
Samsung’s S9 and S9+ models pushed Samsung’s position in the best-selling model list in March capturing 5th and 6th spot respectively.
- Samsung Galaxy S9 series helped increase Samsung’s share in the ultra-premium segment, though iPhone X maintained its lead as the top-selling model in the segment. Samsung doubled its share in the premium-tier ($600-$800), but faced tough competition in the mid and low tier segments from Chinese OEMs (Oppo, vivo, Huawei, Xiaomi).
- Entry-level smartphone share slightly increased after good performances from Xiaomi, Samsung and some of the local brands in the India, SEA, and Africa markets.
- Xiaomi, Samsung and Huawei’s Honor brand helped drive the uptick in the $100-$199 price band volume, in various markets including India and South East Asia. These three brands captured almost half the $100-$199 price band.
- We will likely see an uptick in mid-tier price band share after a marketing push from Oppo, vivo, Huawei in their home market and in India.