Apple’s iPhone 8 has become the world’s number one smartphone in May after surpassing both the Galaxy S9 and the iPhone X in global sales.
Data provided by Counterpoint Research puts the standard iPhone 8 at the top of charts with 2.4 market share, followed closely by the Samsung Galaxy S9+ with the same share. iPhone X is also pretty close with 2.3 percent share, while the surprising Xiaomi Redmi 5A lands the fourth with 2.2 percent.
The analytics firm says Samsung Galaxy S9 sales weren’t as strong in Europe, but instead there were good results in the United States. The S9+ was previously the best-selling smartphone worldwide in April 2018.
Efficient marketing push
But Counterpoint says Apple’s marketing push has paid off, as its ads brought more buyers for its latest-generation models.
“Strong promotions (“How to shoot on iPhone”) running up to the football (soccer) World Cup helped the tech giant to trigger buyer interest in Europe and other markets. iPhone 8 sales were steady in the US postpaid channels,” the company says.
Xiaomi is, without a doubt, the big winner this May, as it managed to enter the top 10 with two different models. In addition to Xiaomi Redmi 5A, the Xiaomi Redmi 5 Plus/ Note 5 make the charts with 1.3 percent share.
“Xiaomi gained momentum in its home market and continues its good performance in India. Xiaomi saw strong performances from its Xiaomi 5A and Xiaomi 5 Plus series. The company has good penetration in the mid-to-affordable premium market in China and we expect the newly launched Xiaomi 8 to become another best seller in the coming months,” the research shows.
Vivo obviously benefits from the latest technological achievements, and its X21, which is one of the first models in the world to come with a fingerprint sensor embedded into the glass, reaching a share of 1.4 percent.