The only mobile capable of selling more than iPhones is a humble Samsung: the IDC top reminds us of the great difference between Apple and Android manufacturers, Four of the five best-selling mobiles in the world are iPhone, according to data from the IDC consultancy for what we have of 2021. Apple once again reigns among the best-selling devices globally, something it has been doing for years due to that combination of popular smartphones and a catalog very focused on a few models.
In contrast are the Android manufacturers, where despite the fact that their sales do rival those of Apple, they do not have a specific model that can become so extended like iPhones. With one exception : the Samsung Galaxy A 12 .
A range of input sneaks between the iPhone
The best-selling smartphone of the year, although IDC refers to Accumulated shipments , is the iPhone 12 . Second is the Galaxy A 12, one of the cheapest Samsung models. Already in third, fourth and fifth place are the iPhone 11 and the iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Pro . As we see, the basic iPhone pulls more than the Pro model and the Max has surpassed the standard Pro.
And in the middle of this battle of great high-end mobiles is the humble Galaxy A 11. As reflected by IDC, it is not Samsung’s flagship but one of its cheapest models that has managed to rival the ubiquitous iPhone in circulation. Models in which Apple can focus all its attention, while Android manufacturers distribute their resources more evenly between the different ranges, which makes it more difficult to reach the top. Despite that, the Galaxy A 13 is having a great pull this year.
According to data from Counterpoint , last year Apple also reigned in the top 5, but it was the Huawei Mate 30 Pro 5G which managed to get a fifth place. A Huawei whose position in the smartphone market has radically changed. Even so, while at the time we saw a high-end sneak into the iPhone, this year it has been Samsung’s entry range. That all be said is not really the most basic model, since there is the Galaxy A 02 .
If we look at data for the first quarter of 2021 , iPhones were also the most popular mobiles both in revenue and volume. In the case of revenue, the closest rival was the Galaxy S 21 Ultra , although very remote. In terms of volume, at the beginning of the year it was the Redmi 9A that achieved the fifth place , with the Galaxy A 12 just presented in seventh position. Months later and with IDC data, the Galaxy A 12 has climbed to a creditable second place.
Samsung regains ground against Xiaomi Another of the leading consultancies for the analysis of the smartphone market is Gartner. In their third quarter report of 2021 they note that Sales have fallen by 6.8% compared to last year, mainly due to the crisis of components.
Despite falling by 1.9%, Samsung would maintain its position as the world’s leading manufacturer during this quarter. In second position Apple surpasses Xiaomi, mainly due to the boost in iPhone sales 13.
If we look at the data for the third quarter in Europe by Counterpoint it can be seen that Samsung has resisted better the component crisis than Xiaomi . In both cases they have fallen by 6% compared to the same quarter of last year, but Samsung has maintained the trend while Xiaomi has changed the orientation of its growth in Europe.
However, in the general of the year Xiaomi follows being the big winner (along with other Chinese manufacturers such as OPPO, realme and Vivo), with a growth of 51% compared to last year, due to a fall of 16% of Samsung.
The Galaxy A 12 in particular has helped Samsung’s position in regions such as the East Medium and the Philippine market, where it has provided a great boost and has allowed Samsung to grow by 23% in the last quarter, according to Counterpoint data .
This is a smartphone with a 6.5-inch HD + TFT screen, triple camera and a 5-inch battery. 000 mAh. A mobile that in Spain can be bought for less than 200 euros . Nothing to do with the prices of the iPhone.
The top of IDC’s best-selling mobiles shows the different strategies between Apple and its high-end with the rest of Android manufacturers, where the flagships have to rival in attention with the rest of the devices in the house . Fortunately for Samsung, its A 12 has managed to be a hit at the height of the most important mobiles.
In Engadget | How the lack of components is affecting the Spanish industry: “we pay 14 euros for a product worth two ”
