Apple's iPhone dominated 2022 smartphone sales
Apple continues to be the top-selling smartphone vendor in the world, with iPhone lines occupying eight of the top ten in global sales rankings for 2022.
The iPhone topped the list of best-selling smartphones for 2022 by a wide margin.
Apple's iPhone lineup has consistently been popular with consumers, with models often appearing high up in sales lists. In a new worldwide ranking of best-selling smartphones in 2022, Apple has managed to dominate the board one more time.
According to Counterpoint Research's list of the Global Top 10 Smartphones, which uses data from the analyst firm's Global Monthly Handset Model Sales Tracker, iPhones take up eight of the spots, including the top three positions.
In the rankings, the iPhone 13 was first with a 5% share of the market across the year, followed by 2.6% for the iPhone 13 Pro Max, then 1.7% for the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
The iPhone 13 Pro was fifth with 1.6%, the iPhone 12 sixth at 1.5%, iPhone 14 seventh at 1.4%, and the iPhone 14 Pro eighth at 1.2%. The 2022 iPhone SE rounds out Apple's occupation in ninth place with 1.1%.
The only other vendor on the list was Samsung, with the long-time rival managing fourth place with 1.6% for the Galaxy A13, and tenth for the Galaxy A03 at 1.1%.
![[Counterpoint]](https://photos5.appleinsider.com/gallery/53348-106999-Top-selling-smartphones-2022-with-monthly-ranks-1-e1678168081168-xl.jpg)
[Counterpoint]
The iPhone 13's sales performance was spectacular, being in first place from January until August, before descending down to a respectable monthly 4th place. Counterpoint also says it was the best-selling smartphone in markets including China, the UK, US, Germany, and France.
It was also the first time a Pro Max variant drove more volume than other models in the same generation, with the iPhone 14 Pro Max doing just that with firsts in September to November. Early adopters and those upgrading to a higher variant are cited as contributors to its success.
"We believe the share of the top 10 smartphones will increase in 2023 as brands focus on clearing inventory and optimizing their launches," Counterpoint forecasts for the year ahead.
The firm continued, warning "We also expect brands to continue making their portfolios leaner in 2023 to minimize cannibalization. The number of active smartphone models in the global market has already fallen from over 4,200 in 2021 to around 3,600 in 2022."
While this could apply to most of the smartphone market, Apple's continued success will probably lead it to continue offering its usual product range.
The 2022 results mirror similar rankings covering 2021, when Counterpoint said the iPhone secured seven positions on the list, including the block of top five positions.
Read on AppleInsider
The iPhone topped the list of best-selling smartphones for 2022 by a wide margin.
Apple's iPhone lineup has consistently been popular with consumers, with models often appearing high up in sales lists. In a new worldwide ranking of best-selling smartphones in 2022, Apple has managed to dominate the board one more time.
According to Counterpoint Research's list of the Global Top 10 Smartphones, which uses data from the analyst firm's Global Monthly Handset Model Sales Tracker, iPhones take up eight of the spots, including the top three positions.
In the rankings, the iPhone 13 was first with a 5% share of the market across the year, followed by 2.6% for the iPhone 13 Pro Max, then 1.7% for the iPhone 14 Pro Max.
The iPhone 13 Pro was fifth with 1.6%, the iPhone 12 sixth at 1.5%, iPhone 14 seventh at 1.4%, and the iPhone 14 Pro eighth at 1.2%. The 2022 iPhone SE rounds out Apple's occupation in ninth place with 1.1%.
The only other vendor on the list was Samsung, with the long-time rival managing fourth place with 1.6% for the Galaxy A13, and tenth for the Galaxy A03 at 1.1%.
[Counterpoint]
The iPhone 13's sales performance was spectacular, being in first place from January until August, before descending down to a respectable monthly 4th place. Counterpoint also says it was the best-selling smartphone in markets including China, the UK, US, Germany, and France.
It was also the first time a Pro Max variant drove more volume than other models in the same generation, with the iPhone 14 Pro Max doing just that with firsts in September to November. Early adopters and those upgrading to a higher variant are cited as contributors to its success.
"We believe the share of the top 10 smartphones will increase in 2023 as brands focus on clearing inventory and optimizing their launches," Counterpoint forecasts for the year ahead.
The firm continued, warning "We also expect brands to continue making their portfolios leaner in 2023 to minimize cannibalization. The number of active smartphone models in the global market has already fallen from over 4,200 in 2021 to around 3,600 in 2022."
While this could apply to most of the smartphone market, Apple's continued success will probably lead it to continue offering its usual product range.
The 2022 results mirror similar rankings covering 2021, when Counterpoint said the iPhone secured seven positions on the list, including the block of top five positions.
Read on AppleInsider
Comments
Look at the consistent strength of the SE. Narrative violation alert
Yes, it is about phones but more precisely, phone models.
Let's take a simplistic approach. FTA:
"The firm continued, warning "We also expect brands to continue making their portfolios leaner in 2023 to minimize cannibalization. The number of active smartphone models in the global market has already fallen from over 4,200 in 2021 to around 3,600 in 2022."
3,600!
How many models does Apple have?
How many models does Samsung have?
How many models do the Chinese manufacturers have?
Some companies sell the same phones under different model names depending on the market.
If all those manufacturers had the same amount of models as Apple, how would it alter numbers?
I cannot really remember a year when Apple hasn't sold the most - by model.
The reason is clear. The figures themselves mean virtually nothing.
https://gulfbusiness.com/apple-again-dominates-smartphone-profit/
85%!
It doesn't matter how many other models there are out there, if the few models Apple have can capture 50% of all smartphone sale revenue and 85% of the profits. Of course one of thing that has to be considered, when looking at the 85% of the smartphone profits, is that none of the relatively few phones that Apple sells are losing money. They all have pretty healthy profit margins, though Apple had never officially reveal what they are . Where other venders (including Samsung) are selling some of their phones at very little profit or at a loss, to capture marketshare.
But of course, Apple is its own market, while sadly, Android OEM's have to compete with all the other's barely profitable models.
It’s been 16 years nothing is stopping them from rolling up their sleeves and getting to work on a OS….. Apple has to because they are not a monopoly.
However, nothing to do with the point.
it is true that most phones are android. That is a truth.
It is also true that the top ten should be where all the money is. Which of course sucks as an apple fan as I am providing big profits to a big corporation. The rest behind the top ten are on the whole margin challenged, except for perhaps Samsung.
What is interesting about these stats, although I am not sure they should be taken with anything other than a grain of salt, is that Samsung’s top phones were not their high margin flagship phones, but budget, lower performing versions. I find that very surprising.
My Honor 7 was a real eye opener when pitted against my wife's iPhone 6 I think it was. The fast charging alone was a godsend and it was her battery that failed, not mine. The rear mounted fingerprint sensor with gesture control was so well thought out too.
Fast forward to today and I still want to pull my hair out every time my wife's XR throws a wobbly or iOS insists on doing things 'its' way.
All the talk now is on the possible inclusion of a periscope lens on iPhones at the end of 2023.
Something that was delivered on Android back at the start of 2019 and the latest version of which (March 23rd launch) is going to be incredible:
https://www.phonearena.com/news/huawei-exec-shares-p60-pro-telephoto-shots_id145970
It puts 'profits' into context if manufacturers bring advances to market in a competitive environment. It does not matter if they make less profit as long as it is enough to keep pumping out great phones.
Ironically, in spite of the high Apple profit margins that largely stay in the bank and are not used on the product, competitors have consistently invested more in R&D than Apple and delivered the goods, and made a profit.
I think that's better for the consumer in general.
Although this is an Honor labeled technology, I would bet my grandma on it being baked elsewhere. LOL.
https://www.gizchina.com/2023/03/06/honor-c1-rf-chipset-launched-sets-a-new-benchmark/
My wife's number one complaint with all our iOS devices is the extremely poor Wi-Fi and Bluetooth performance when compared to non-iOS devices in the same environment.
I think what's better for the consumer in general is the availability of devices/services that suit multiple different sets of needs. That doesn't mean that a single provider has to serve all of those different sets of needs; if there is a functioning market then there will be at least one provider that may choose to meet the demand.
One of the interesting facets of the mass market is that it tends to homogenise products/services in order to minimise the per-unit cost by operating at a huge scale; the lower cost is a welcome, easily-measured, immediate benefit but the loss of diversity is an unwelcome, hard-to-measure, delayed cost.
The 'war chest' is definitely a metric consumers don't care about.
To me, it's profit for the sake of profit and Apple has succeeded in creating the illusion that you are getting something more for your money. It's great brand management more than anything else.
This was mainly achieved during the iPod heyday when it became the darling of the press and the halo effect began. It's been riding that wave ever since.
Hats off to Apple for that but it doesn't change the fact that, as a technology company, Apple has consistently underdelivered in key aspects of its phone hardware (and excelling in some areas does not make up for what has been missing or not met the grade in performance terms).
The XR is heavy. It has really poor wireless performance too. Lousy onboard storage which has been a major issue on all iPhones until very recently. Upsell in the name of profit.
If consumers, even unaware, are buying into that, it's perhaps unreasonable to criticise the company for trying to milk the cow as much as possible but that does not change reality.
But sure, credit to Apple for not fucking up its brand going on some two decades, all the while continuing to grow its user base. These Android OEM's just can't figure out Apple's success, albeit Google is finally seeing some with the Pixel.
Meanwhile, you continue to whinge about Apple, and are likely not even a buyer of those "advanced" Android OS features that you so frequently tout.
On top of that, some features are just 'a given' on Android. Things like fast charging were commonplace even years ago. They weren't as fast as the ultra fast options at the top end but were much, much faster than Apple.
'Boutique' phones are the ultra high end but even beyond the premium plus models. They exist because there is clearly a market for them.
Even things that should never have been complicated on iPhones were possible on Android phones from the beginning. Like downloading an email attachment directly to your local storage.
That Android covers a range of price points and feature sets is precisely why there are less sales by model. The top end makes a very decent profit for manufacturers but the amount of profit is completely irrelevant if it does not push technology forward.
Android phones have gone far further than iPhones in doing just that.
Apple had no option but to add more models to its lines but as there are still very few, actual sales by model are higher. That is what this article is saying.
Folding phones are an example of pushing technology. At the bleeding edge prices are high and the market is limited. A $2,000 iPhone would not be one of Apple’s top sellers.
But like I said, the technology will trickle down. That is why there are now 'affordable' folding phones on the market and from an ever-growing pool of manufacturers.
If Android vendors couldn't figure success out, how did Huawei become the world's biggest vendor before sanctions were applied and without access to one of the world's major markets? How has Xiaomi managed to do so well? How has BBK managed to do so well? And Samsung is still there.
Great for Apple users that aren't as price sensitive, and are happier with our broader ecosystem. That must be why the user base keeps increasing; happiness.
You are a perfect example of that. So is my wife.
The ecosystem is not broader either.
As for profit, there is more than enough to bring new technology to market, as has been seen for years now.
The difference is that there is less profit and it doesn't get stashed away in tax, cough, Paradise Papers, havens.
While it is true that Apple users hold on to their phones longer, it is also true that the user base continues to grow, hence why Apple sold 236 million iPhones in 2022. It is also true that Apple's ecosystem is in fact broader, given all of the Apple supported connections amongst its hardware, services and software. Android OS has a plethora of third party options, but good luck making them all work together seamlessly as a consumer.
More to the point, why is it that Apple has such high retention of its customers? Certainly Apple users aren't sheep, contrary to how the Android OS market sees them.
In fact, if Google services were not available on iOS, it would have an impact on Apple’s sales just as they have on Huawei phones outside China.
Apple has joined Matter for a reason. Home Kit wasn't really moving the needle.
Which third party options don't work seamlessly on Android?
Have you seen what HarmonyOS is all about when it comes to services, connections and thousands of supported devices?
I suggest you sit through a few technical presentations. Apple’s different OSes have a degree of interoperability but they are not designed for that. They are adapted because at their core they remain 'siloed'. The same is true of Android of course although Google is working on a solution to that.
HarmonyOS has been built without siloed functionality and although it is still early days it is delivering on its goals.
From 128kb memory on IoT up to 1024 core cluster systems there is a lot happening.
Still waiting for the Apple Car? A new Car Play?
The future is here, and yes, it ties in with the ecosystem...
https://www.gsmarena.com/aito_m5_harmonyos_system_quick_review-news-54285.php
How much of that can you do as an iOS user?