Galaxy S III passes Apple's iPhone 4S, becomes top selling US smartphone

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
For the first time since it launched last October, Apple's iPhone 4S was not the top selling smartphone in the U.S., as the newly released Samsung Galaxy S III took the top spot in the month of August.

Samsung's lead is expected by analyst Michael Walkley with Canaccord Genuity to be short-lived, however, as Apple is widely expected to unveil its next-generation iPhone next week. Walkley said in a note to investors on Tuesday that his checks with U.S. carriers found that iPhone sales have been soft ahead of the launch of Apple's next iPhone, allowing Samsung's Galaxy S III to take the top spot.

The data from carriers indicated that many U.S. customers are holding off on buying a smartphone until Apple's next iPhone debuts. The Galaxy S III was the top selling handset at three of the four major carriers in America: Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile. But the iPhone 4S remained the top seller at AT&T, according to Walkley's checks.

In fact, at Verizon the iPhone 4S was bumped down to third place in August, finishing behind the Motorola Razr Maxx as well. The iPhone 4S took second place at Sprint, while it is not available through T-Mobile.

"We believe this is the first month since the iPhone 4S launched in October 2011 that it was not the top selling smartphone in the U.S. market," he wrote. "However, our checks indicated strong consumer interest and likely demand for the iPhone 5, and we believe Apple will return to strong number one smartphone share in the U.S. post the iPhone 5 launch."

Canaccord


Apple is expected to send out invitations to the media this week for an event in San Francisco on Sept. 12. There it is anticipated that the company will unveil its sixth-generation iPhone, a newly redesigned device with a larger 4-inch display.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 91


    That Galaxy S3 is a very good phone.  

  • Reply 2 of 91


    Meh....wait a few weeks. 

  • Reply 3 of 91


    I'm very curious to see how a 4G iPhone affects Verizon Android sales. That's probably been Apple's biggest detractor on Verizon's platform. Many people aren't willing to sacrifice speed, but they won't have to much longer.


     


    Next iPhone is going to be huge!

  • Reply 4 of 91


    Some people like their plastic.

  • Reply 5 of 91
    Not a surprise. People are just holding off for what Apple is going to announce. When the new iPhone comes out new week Apple will once again have 11 months of top-smartphone sales.
  • Reply 6 of 91


    2 dudes here at work have that plastic phone....photos looks bad, very over saturated. Nothing comes close to the Retina.IMHO

  • Reply 7 of 91
    Any guess as to how many Apple may sell the first weekend it goes on sale? I'm guessing between 3.5 and 5 million.
  • Reply 8 of 91


    Newly released product outsells older 11-month-old product. News at 11.

  • Reply 9 of 91

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by silverpraxis View Post


    Newly released product outsells older 11-month-old product. News at 11.



    Bingo. 

  • Reply 10 of 91
    aaronjaaronj Posts: 1,595member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by silverpraxis View Post


    Newly released product outsells older 11-month-old product. News at 11.



     


    Stop with logic.  We have no truck with that here! :)

  • Reply 11 of 91
    drblankdrblank Posts: 3,385member


    This doesn't prove anything.  How many iPhone 4S have been sold since it was released and how many Galaxy S III's have been sold since it's been released? What are the TOTAL numbers?  I didn't see actual numbers, just ratings for monthly sales.


     


    Now, in order for Samsung to sell their latest FLAGSHIP product, they have to pay these slimy cell phone sales reps $25 a phone as a SPIFF. Hardly a good business practice for what is supposed to be great product.


     


    I think it's biggest selling feature is that its' got a big screen. THAT'S IT.  That's all it has.


     


    Other than a big screen (not retina class) the OS still has problems with 4.0.4 and 4.1 is not yet out for it.  At least for the Sprint version.  I'm sure all of these slimy reps that are pushing Samsung products are nervous because the impending iPhone 5 announcement and usually when Apple announces a product, people line up to buy one but they typically line up at Apple Stores rather than the cell phone stores.


     


    certainly an interesting situation.


     


    Just for the record, I HATE going into Cell Phone stores.  The sales reps at these stores are typically kids right out of school acting like they know everything and they are typically slime to work with.


     


    I always thought the cell phone industry was trying to figure out how much to charge and they are worse to deal with than the cable/dish companies.




    Thank God for Apple Stores where I don't get products rammed down my throat.  At least they aren't paid on commission and are paid to sell the right products.  I've had Sales Reps at Apple try to sell me on less expensive products because that's all I really needed, I didn't feel like they were trying to push the most expensive product on me.


     


    With these cell phone stores, I feel all they want to do is push a particular product on me and I can smell their little $25 SPIFF mentality.


     


    For those cell phone reps out there, don't FORCE a product down someone's throat that they weren't asking for in the first place.

  • Reply 12 of 91

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by silverpraxis View Post


    Newly released product outsells older 11-month-old product. News at 11.



     


    Newly released product barely outsells older 11-month-old product at retailers known to lie to and manipulate customers into not buying the 11-month-old product.


     


    Android is "winning".

  • Reply 13 of 91
    matrix07matrix07 Posts: 1,993member


    It's still the top at AT&T, exactly 2 years of the same design. :O


     


    I think the article misses the point. It is a wonder how much iPhone had been sold on other carriers than AT&T considering this:



     


     


    In short, it is selling even though nobody want to sell.

  • Reply 14 of 91
    Android losing for samsung.Sorry no more android samsung flagship ,only tizen os on 2013 flagship.cos sammy don,t want to pay cross license to ms.So your going to miss googles premium service for next flagship sammy phone..
    http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/240750/tizen_a_viable_android_alternative_at_last.html
  • Reply 15 of 91


    It would stand to reason that iPhone sales would drastically slow down around the time when a new model is tradtionally introduced.


     


    People buying a new phone now don't want a year old phone.  They want the new hotness - the iPhone 5.


     


    Those in the market for an Android OS device will buy the best one of those, which is the Samsung.


     


    iPhone 5 will set everything back to normal.

  • Reply 16 of 91


    Originally Posted by matrix07 View Post

    It's still the top at AT&T, exactly 2 years of the same design. :O


     


    I think the article misses the point. It is a wonder how much iPhone had been sold on other carriers than AT&T considering this:




     


    Apple needs to sue AT&T for gross, willful slander. This is unac-effing-ceptable.


     


    I want to work at Apple Corporate. I so want to work at Apple Corporate. Preferably medium-high up. Walk into an AT&T store, hear this tripe, and then just explode at the guy from across the room, walking ever closer.


     


    Manager comes out, "sir, you're going to have to leave," whip out my Apple Corporate ID, watch his face go white as a sheet. 


     


    "We're not done here," I'll say, even if I've no authority to say so, "you won't get away with these lies." Walk out, leaving all other customers wondering what they were lied to about the iPhone, leading them to do research on their own. 

  • Reply 17 of 91
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Most Deservedly .. . Samsung Galaxy SIII = Easily the best smartphone existent.

    ... and that's not likely to change anytime soon.
  • Reply 18 of 91
    but sooner
  • Reply 19 of 91


    FWIW Gents - you have to keep in mind that not EVERYONE who buys an Apple product is necessarily a fan-user. 


     


    For instance, I am sure you guys all like pizza - but you have eaten pizza at Round Table, Little Caesars, etc. You probably have your GO TO pizza place, but are willing to try others.


     


    A hardcore pizza fan would eat at only one place, but casual pizza eaters, will go wherever there is a decent pizza.


     


    Phone users are similar. With the iPhone 3G/S... there really WASN'T any decent alternatives out there. So people bought in. After all, $199+ is a decent price point...


     


    But fast forward a few years, there are A LOT of smartphones out there.


    I'm not saying the iPhone 5 will or will not sell, but it's pretty hard to say HOW successful it is.



    But from my standpoint, I owned all the iPhones since the original (and paid full price for that one)... iOS is the weakest feature of the iPhone because it still essentially looks the same... and will continue to be that way for years more. That's where I *think* Android's customization may have the upper hand...


     


    The iPhone 5 WILL SELL WELL... but I question, just how well.




    2-cents.



     


     




     


     

  • Reply 20 of 91


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