Apple continues to dominate best-selling smartphones rankings despite recent S9 launch

The latest Counterpoint Market Pulse research, based on data from April and released this week, finds that Samsung's Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus have taken the top two spots in global smartphone market share, with 2.6 percent each. However, Apple takes five of the top ten spots on the list, with the three 2017 models —the iPhone X, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone 8 —taking the third through fifth spots, with 2.3, 2.3 and 2.2 percent, respectively.
 
In addition, the iPhone 6 and iPhone 7 took the seventh and ninth spots, with 1.4 percent each. Xiaomi devices took the sixth and eighth spots, with the Samsung Galaxy S8 coming in 10th.
 
Top of the list
 
There are a few reasons why the S9 models are at the top. They're much newer, having been released in March and April in most countries, while the latest iPhone line has been available since late last year. Counterpoint mentions that seasonality plays a big part in this quarter's sales figures.
 
Also, carriers have been offering buy-one-get-one deals on the S9 models nearly since launch, something they weren't doing with the iPhone X until recently.
 
Also, according to Counterpoint, "Samsung price cuts on older Galaxy S8 series along with aggressive marketing and cashback offers, easy EMI's amongst other factors drove sales for premium flagships." Counterpoint also cited the S9's strong performance in North America and the Asia-Pacific region.
 
Apple's Tim Cook claimed, as of Apple's earnings announcement on May 1, that the iPhone X had been the top-selling smartphone in the world every week since its release.

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