Samsung released 31 smartphones last year, Apple three

Feb 24, 2017 09:30 GMT  ·  By

A recent report by online statistics portal Statista shows that Samsung released the most smartphones in the market, while Apple the least. The chart also shows which are the top 5 brands based on units sales in 2016.

Samsung released 31 smartphones in 2016, while Lenovo and its Motorola sub-brand announced 26, ZTE 24, Huawei 22, LG 19, Xiaomi 18, HTC 15, Vivo 13, Oppo 9, and Apple just three. Samsung launched fewer smartphones last year than two years ago, when it released 56 new phones. The chart also shows that Samsung, Apple, Huawei, Vivo and Oppo sold the most units this year, but not necessarily in that order.

After recording a 49% drop in profits for Q4 2016, Samsung has stated that it intends to cut its lineup by up to 30%, and it seems that it did. Samsung usually announces its Galaxy S flagship during the MWC event each year, but it seems that the Galaxy S8 won’t be unveiled this month.

Volume isn’t everything

This means that Samsung has started to make some changes in its business strategy, but the company is still expected to continue its volume business model, rather than focusing around one premium smartphone, as Apple does.

New models introduced by major smartphone makers in 2016
New models introduced by major smartphone makers in 2016

Apple released just three smartphones last year, iPhone SE in March, iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus in the fall. Market analysts recently told Business Insider that "Apple has Samsung on the ropes like never before in recent memory."

Samsung will attend MWC to announce the Galaxy Tab S3, but the UNPACKED event was delayed to late March, when the Galaxy S8 will be unveiled. Aside from this, the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco took a toll on the company’s reputation and financial results, while last week’s arrest of Samsung’s heir raised concerns among analysts.

This is why Drexel Hamilton analyst Brian White has recently said that Apple is dominating Samsung. In addition, Apple’s upcoming iPhone 8 is rumored to feature better and bigger display, longer battery life, next-generation 3D selfie sensor, and a complete redesign. The phone will be announced later this year, and we’re quite curious to see which company will greet 2018 as leader in the smartphone market.

Samsung and Apple logo (2 Images)

Samsung and Apple logo
New models introduced by major smartphone makers in 2016
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