Omdia has answered a pressing question that occupied you. Which smartphone was the most popular last year? When we mention the most popular, we base this on the number of units shipped worldwide. Before we get to the answer, let’s go back to the same question for 2019. In that year, the Apple iPhone XR was the most shipped phone in the world with 46.3 million units shipped. The average retail price of the device was $ 777 USD. Number two was the Apple iPhone 11 with 37.3 million handsets shipped.
Interestingly enough, it was 2019’s number two that took the crown last year, as the iPhone 11 led the way with a whopping 64.8 million units sold last year. And it wasn’t even close. While the difference between the number of phones shipped between the first model and the second model was only 9 million units in 2019, that difference was 40.6 million handsets last year. Perhaps because of the pandemic that prevented many consumers from making a living last year, the second most popular handset was the iPhone SE (2020). With an average retail price of $ 451, the iPhone 8 double (albeit with an A13 Bionic in it and 3 GB of storage) shipped 24.2 million handsets.
Apple was also responsible for the third most popular phone in the world, the iPhone 12. Although the pandemic forced Apple to release the phone more than a month later than its normal September date, it was delivered 23.3 million times. The handset was part of Apple’s first line of 5G phones and was the second most expensive phone on the list with an average retail price of $ 896.
The Apple iPhone 11 was the most shipped phone in 2020
Samsung was responsible for the next three phones on the list as the Galaxy A51 took fourth place, the The Galaxy A21’s budget phone was fifth, and the Galaxy A01 finished sixth. Those three models were delivered 23.2 million, 19.4 million and 16.9 million times respectively. While the A51 can be considered a mid-range, the Galaxy A01 is the cheapest phone in the top ten with an average retail price of $ 115, putting it in the budget category.
Only Apple had flagship models on the list of most shipped smartphones in 2020
Ironically, the cheapest phone on the list is the most expensive right after that. With an average retail price of $ 1,232, the Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max was the seventh most popular phone of 2020. It is also the top of Apple’s 2020 handset line. That phone was followed by the Samsung Galaxy A11 with a total of 15.3 million shipped last year. Xiaomi had the ninth most popular phone with the last year Redmi Note 9 Pro. 15 million units shipped with an average retail price of $ 161. And around the top ten most shipped phones in 2020 was the iPhone 12 mini with 14.5 million phones shipped. This model has not sold as well as Apple had hoped, according to reports, so it has been spoken that Apple will stop production of the phone in the second quarter.
Given that the iPhone 12 models on the list were only available for less than two months in 2020, we’d say Apple should feel good about the iPhone’s popularity. If we go through both the 2019 and 2020 lists, we can see that only Apple was able to place flagship models among the 20 phones listed for the two years.
Jusy Hong, Senior Research Manager Wireless Devices Components & Devices at Omdia said, “The top 10 list illustrates Apple’s strong grip on the overall smartphone market and the strength of its brand compared to all other smartphone OEMs. The list also illustrates that other OEMs, even a globally well-positioned brand like Samsung are struggling to break through to consumers with their own premium devices – not a single Galaxy S or Note line model made the top 10. The only other OEM with a genuine opportunity to maintain Apple’s position as the top premium smartphone OEM, Huawei will see its role in the international smartphone market decline further. Other brands, such as Xiaomi, vivo and OPPO, have different product portfolio priorities than are currently challenging Apple in the premium segment. “