Apple dominates Q1 2017 smartphone model sales

While Apple may be struggling to maintain its overall smartphone sales numbers it still stands head and shoulders above the rest when it comes to individual models.

The main reason for this, of course, is that it has far fewer models than other vendors. This does beg the question of how many more Apple could sell if it expanded down the price tier stack, but given how ridiculously profitable the company remains it can’t be faulted for concluding ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.’

“We estimate Apple iPhone 7 shipped 21.5 million units and captured 6 percent marketshare worldwide in Q1 2017,” said SA’s Juha Winter. “The iPhone 7 is by far the world’s most popular smartphone model, due to a compelling blend of user-friendly design, extensive supporting apps, and widespread retail availability for the device. Apple iPhone 7 Plus, with its bigger screen and higher pricing, shipped 17.4 million units for second place and 5 percent marketshare worldwide in Q1 2017.”

The secret of Oppo’s success is revealed in the form of the R9, which accounted for a third of all its sales, while Samsung’s ability to maintain growth in spite of Note7-gate thanks to its mid-range J-series devices.

“Oppo R9s shipped 8.9 million units for third place and 3 percent marketshare worldwide in Q1 2017,” said SA’s Neil Mawston. “OPPO is largely unknown in the Western world, but its brand is wildly popular in China and growing rapidly across India. The R9s is OPPO’s flagship 4G device with key features such as dual-SIM connectivity and fingerprint security.”

“Samsung was still gearing up for the launch of its new Galaxy S8 portfolio, but managed to get two models in the top five during Q1 2017,” said SA’s Linda Sui. “The Galaxy J3 captured 2 percent global smartphone marketshare and fourth place, while Galaxy J5 took 1 percent global share to become the world’s fifth most popular model. Samsung’s J3 and J5 are midrange devices that sell very well across Europe and Asia and they helped to offset Samsung’s troubles with the Note7 battery fiasco in the quarter.”

Because we asked really nicely SA was kind enough to share the full year 2016 model shipment numbers with us, which once more reveal Apple dominance. The fact that the iPhone 7 sold almost as many as its predecessor despite only being launched late in the year illustrates how important the last quarter of the year is to the company.

In other Apple news, bullish comments from the world’s preeminent investor Warren Buffett have boosted Apple’s shares this week such that it became the first company ever to be worth more than $800 billion in terms of market capitalization, further evidence than it doesn’t need to put too much effort into chasing sales growth.