Six of top ten smartphones sold in Jan. were Apple's, iPhone 12 sales king

AppleInsider

The iPhone 12 was the best-selling smartphone globally during January, with Apple snagging six of the top ten spots.

All four members of the iPhone 12 series made the top ten

According to Counterpoint Research, the iPhone 12 led the way, followed by iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max. Together, those three phones captured 71% of Apple's monthly sales.

"There was a pent-up demand for 5G upgrades within the iOS base, which, along with strong carrier promotions, resulted in robust sales for the iPhone 12 series," the report reads. "Besides, Apple launched the new iPhone series later than the usual date, resulting in strong demand for these models spilling over into January."

Counting just the U.S. sales, the iPhone 12 Pro Max was the top-selling model. Nearly one-third of Apple's global sales came from the Cupertino, CA company's home country.

The Counterpoint Research top ten list

Lower-priced Apple handsets -- the iPhone 11 and iPhone SE -- also did well. They came in fourth and tenth, respectively, in the global top-ten list.

While the iPhone 12 mini made the top-10 global list, it trailed behind phones like the Xiaomi Redmi 9, Redmi 9A, and Samsung Galaxy A21S. This list is the latest indication that the iPhone 12 mini is selling in lower volumes than the rest of the 2020 handsets.

TF Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo, JP Morgan, and CIRP analysts have also echoed that the iPhone 12 mini has failed to attract thriving sales figures. The smaller phone is nearly identical to the top-selling iPhone 12, but its miniature size and lesser battery capacity appear to limit its interest -- even compared to the older iPhone 11.

While the Galaxy S flagships may grab much of Samsung's marketing budget and headlines, the cheaper A-series phones mark the Korean company's only appearances in the January top 10.

Fred257

I’ll get a mini 13.  If they don’t make a mini 13 I’ll continue to use my first generation SE.  Which is really going strong 💪 

Beats

Assuming these numbers are real, they still aren’t selling enough. There shouldn’t be cheap knockoffs in the top 10 at all. Hope Apple continues to increase market share.

Fred257 said:

I’ll get a mini 13.  If they don’t make a mini 13 I’ll continue to use my first generation SE.  Which is really going strong 💪 

iPhone Mini is huge. It’s bigger than all legacy iPhones. I wish they would have made an iPhone the size of the iPhone 5 screen(4”?). But they got obsessed with size after that form. 

fred1

I’m puzzled by all the reports of the 12 Mini not doing well compared to the other 12 models. I really like mine a lot and I didn’t want the 12 - too big. Is it just the battery life or the rumored battery life? That hasn’t been a problem for me. 

mike1

fred1 said:

I’m puzzled by all the reports of the 12 Mini not doing well compared to the other 12 models. I really like mine a lot and I didn’t want the 12 - too big. Is it just the battery life or the rumored battery life? That hasn’t been a problem for me. 

Well, it made the top 10. Just because it is not Apple's most popular model, does not mean there's no market or sales overall. There really is no reason not to have it in the lineup.

pulseimages

fred1 said:

I’m puzzled by all the reports of the 12 Mini not doing well compared to the other 12 models. I really like mine a lot and I didn’t want the 12 - too big. Is it just the battery life or the rumored battery life? That hasn’t been a problem for me. 

But what’s your daily usage like? 

pulseimages

Beats said:

Assuming these numbers are real, they still aren’t selling enough. There shouldn’t be cheap knockoffs in the top 10 at all. Hope Apple continues to increase market share.

Fred257 said:

I’ll get a mini 13.  If they don’t make a mini 13 I’ll continue to use my first generation SE.  Which is really going strong 💪 

iPhone Mini is huge. It’s bigger than all legacy iPhones. I wish they would have made an iPhone the size of the iPhone 5 screen(4”?). But they got obsessed with size after that form. 

It’s really not any bigger than my SE 2016 with a case. When I was checking out the 12’s at Best Buy I really liked the Mini’s size. 

pulseimages

Fred257 said:

I’ll get a mini 13.  If they don’t make a mini 13 I’ll continue to use my first generation SE.  Which is really going strong 💪 

Good to hear, mine isn’t as lucky. The power button stopped working 6 months ago even though I always keep it in a case. I’m on my second battery that’s max charge is 79%. Also anytime I need to restart it I must have it hooked up to power or all that happens is the Apple logo blinks on and off. 

Beats

pulseimages said:

Beats said:

Assuming these numbers are real, they still aren’t selling enough. There shouldn’t be cheap knockoffs in the top 10 at all. Hope Apple continues to increase market share.

Fred257 said:

I’ll get a mini 13.  If they don’t make a mini 13 I’ll continue to use my first generation SE.  Which is really going strong 💪 

iPhone Mini is huge. It’s bigger than all legacy iPhones. I wish they would have made an iPhone the size of the iPhone 5 screen(4”?). But they got obsessed with size after that form. 

It’s really not any bigger than my SE 2016 with a case. When I was checking out the 12’s at Best Buy I really liked the Mini’s size. 

I understand that but why the “Mini” name when it’s about the same size as the current SE?

It’s not even a one-handed device and my hands aren’t small.

I bet it would have sold more if it was the size of the original SE or the size of the original SE screen with notch.

pulseimages

Beats said:

pulseimages said:

Beats said:

Assuming these numbers are real, they still aren’t selling enough. There shouldn’t be cheap knockoffs in the top 10 at all. Hope Apple continues to increase market share.

Fred257 said:

I’ll get a mini 13.  If they don’t make a mini 13 I’ll continue to use my first generation SE.  Which is really going strong 💪 

iPhone Mini is huge. It’s bigger than all legacy iPhones. I wish they would have made an iPhone the size of the iPhone 5 screen(4”?). But they got obsessed with size after that form. 

It’s really not any bigger than my SE 2016 with a case. When I was checking out the 12’s at Best Buy I really liked the Mini’s size. 

I understand that but why the “Mini” name when it’s about the same size as the current SE?

It’s not even a one-handed device and my hands aren’t small.

I bet it would have sold more if it was the size of the original SE or the size of the original SE screen with notch.

Technically it is a mini version of the 12. Same internals and camera in a smaller package. Couldn’t call it the SE 3 since the cameras are always less than the flagship models due to the $399 price tag. According to my Occupational Therapist people shouldn’t use their phones one handed since it will lead to thumb and hand problems. 

entropys

pulseimages said:

fred1 said:

I’m puzzled by all the reports of the 12 Mini not doing well compared to the other 12 models. I really like mine a lot and I didn’t want the 12 - too big. Is it just the battery life or the rumored battery life? That hasn’t been a problem for me. 

But what’s your daily usage like? 

Living in a country where we aren’t locked up most of the time, I use my mini a lot more than my old iPhone 7. One of the reasons is the battery life in the mini is a lot better. Even new, the iphone 7 & 8 battery life was two hours less continuous video than a mini.

there is nothing at all wrong with the mini battery. it just has less capacity in comparison to its much larger siblings, which do a couple of hours more battery life because their batteries are so much bigger.

I gave an example previously of a day with a bit of a thrashing: an hour browsing in bed, a half hour reading on kindle app, a couple of hours wireless CarPlay, including navigation, a half hour casting a web video to an Apple TV, a couple of hours videoing/ photographing in a reasonably remote area with intermittent reception, a couple of phone calls and about ten texts. Ended the day about ten pm with about 30%.