iPhone 7 and 7 Plus Remain World’s Most Popular Smartphones
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The iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus retained their positions as the world’s most popular smartphones in 2017’s second quarter by a wide margin, according to new data published by research firm Strategy Analytics.
Apple shipped an estimated 16.9 million iPhone 7 devices and 15.1 million iPhone 7 Plus devices in the second quarter, according to Strategy Analytic’s newest Smartphone Model Tracker report. Cupertino’s two 2016 flagships ranked as the first and second most popular smartphones globally in the quarter, which represents the April through June period.
“iPhone 7 remained the world’s most popular smartphone model overall, due to a compelling blend of user-friendly design, extensive supporting apps, and widespread retail presence for the device,” Senior Analyst Juha Winter said in the report.
Third and fourth place in the quarter went to Samsung’s Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ respectively, both of which were released earlier this year. Samsung shipped an estimated 10.2 million Galaxy S8 units and 9 million Galaxy S8+ units from April through June. “Samsung’s Galaxy S8 has instantly become the world’s most popular Android smartphone model,” said Neil Mawston, Strategy Analytics’s executive director.
In fifth place was Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi’s Redmi 4A smartphone, which shipped around 5.5 million units in the second quarter. The Redmi 4A is a budget handset, which presumably lends to its popularity in certain regions of the world — particularly the large markets of China and India.
During Apple’s impressive earnings call earlier this month, the company reported that it had sold 41 million iPhones. Though it did not break that number down by specific model, Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that the iPhone 7 remained Cupertino’s most popular handset. While Android is the most widely used mobile OS, Apple’s flagship popularity remains strong — which is especially notable because the iPhone 7 is technically nearing the end of its year-long product cycle.
Though it’s hard to tell how the iPhone 7’s successor will do, many analysts are expecting this year’s premium iPhone 8 flagship to meet strong demand and spur an “upgrade super-cycle” for Apple. If accurate, this year’s cycle could boost sales for Apple and bring the company one step closer to the $1 trillion valuation milestone.
