There was a recent study where the most popular smartphones were ranked and Samsung’s smartphones emerged as the winners globally. No wonder Samsung phones are still selling like hot-cakes in countries other than South Korea and launching phones that are far superior.
According to a report by Strategy Analytics, a research and consulting firm, Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge, the flagship from Samsung, has emerged as the highest selling smartphone in 2016 so far. In fact, Samsung also accounted for the top three most shipped smartphones in the first half of 2016.
The S series from Samsung is a top-notch product that has the ‘edge’ form factor along with innovative features that compliment the handset. According to the estimates, roughly 13.3 million S7 edge units have been shipped worldwide, since its launch in February 2016.
Linda Sui, Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global Android smartphone shipments grew 5 percent annually from 552.2 million units in H1 2015 to 577.3 million in H1 2016. The Android smartphone category is outgrowing Apple iOS, whose global smartphone shipments fell 16 percent annually from 108.7 million in H1 2015 to 91.6 million in H1 2016.”
Approximately 13 million units of Samsung Galaxy J2 and 11.8 million units of Samsung Galaxy S7 were shipped in the first half of 2016. These three are also the most popular smartphones globally. Samsung Galaxy J2 is a budget offering from the Korean company that has hit the right chord with people in the developing nations.
|
Global Android Smartphone Shipments by Model (Millions of Units) |
H1 ’15 |
H1 ’16 |
|
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge |
0.0 |
13.3 |
|
Samsung Galaxy J2 |
0.0 |
13.0 |
|
Samsung Galaxy S7 |
0.0 |
11.8 |
|
Others |
552.2 |
539.2 |
|
Total |
552.2 |
577.3 |
|
Global Android Smartphone Market share by Model (% of Total) |
H1 ’15 |
H1 ’16 |
|
Samsung Galaxy S7 edge |
0.0% |
2.3% |
|
Samsung Galaxy J2 |
0.0% |
2.3% |
|
Samsung Galaxy S7 |
0.0% |
2.0% |
|
Others |
100.0% |
93.4% |
|
Total |
100.0% |
100.0% |
|
Source: Strategy Analytics |
Table of Contents
Is iPhone losing out?
Apple is having a hard time facing competition from the bigger rivals like Samsung, LG and Huawei, and smaller, but high impact, rivals like OnePlus, Xiaomi and Oppo. In fact, India was the only country where the sales have improved drastically, by 51%.
One cannot deny the advantages of having an open source operating system that Samsung and the likes have adopted. Samsung’s own touchwiz interface adds to the usability of Android OS and the ‘edge’ form factor improves the user experience of the handset.
Before we jump into conclusions, we should also note that although iPhones sales have been lower than last year, they are still around the 100 million mark, which is an impressive feat by just a couple of iOS powered phones. Above all, the margin on iPhones is extremely high and that balances the low sales.
Nevertheless, iPhone users have been switching to other manufacturers to get a feel of the infinite functions an Android phone can do. iPhones carry the premium feel, but fail to impress tech junkies and gadget freaks.
As more and more Chinese electronic manufacturers gain popularity worldwide, Samsung’s success can not be guaranteed for very long. LeEco, OnePlus, Huawei and Xiaomi are focussing on not just smartphones, but even accessories and other electronic gadgets that can lure a consumer.
Can the South Korean handset maker stay in lead till next year? Google Nexus devices, expected to be released in a couple of months, may topple the king and gain more recognition.