The iPhone XR is tops!
Right, it does not have a full HD display, has a single rear camera, does not have an AMOLED display, is considered overpriced even after price cuts and is the bestselling smartphone in the world. Yes, the iPhone XR was the highest-selling phone of the year and by a massive margin too. It shipped 26.9 million units over the first two quarters of 2019, which is more than the phones at number two (the Samsung Galaxy A10 with 13.4 million) and number three (Samsung Galaxy A50 at 12 million) sold put together.
Samsung’s A-series rocks it…
Samsung has four phones in the top ten, and three of them come from the A series that it launched towards the end of 2018 – the budget A10 is at number 2, while the more mid-segment A50 and A30 are at number 3 and number 10 respectively. It is easily the most successful series in the top ten.
…but its stars are missing
It is, however, noticeable that none on Samsung’s Galaxy S series or Note series made it to the top ten. This is not to say that they are unsuccessful but it is still rather odd when you consider the reach of the Korean giant and the sheer quality longevity of those devices – people are still considering purchasing the Note 8!
Three 2018 veterans make it
The list also has three devices that were launched in the second and third quarter of 2018 – the Oppo A5 at 8, the Redmi 6A at 5 and the Samsung Galaxy J2 Core at 7. None of them has a full HD display, but then what the heck, neither has the number one phone out there.
Xiaomi makes the top five
Xiaomi got two phones in the top ten and they actually are at joint fifth position. One, as we already pointed out is the 2018 offering, the Redmi 6A. The other, however, is one of its biggest hits of the year, the Redmi Note 7, which has also sold as many units as the Redmi 6A in a much shorter duration of time.
The most expensive iPhone is there too
The most affordable new iPhone might be there at number one, but that does not mean that there were no takers for its more expensive counterparts. And in a stat that really surprised us, the iPhone XS Max actually comes in at number 9. Considering that this is the most expensive of the new iPhones, it does make one wonder. Especially when you consider that the less expensive iPhone XS does not make the top ten.
The oldest phone out there is an iPhone as well
The oldest phone on the list is an iPhone as well. The iPhone 8, which was released in 2017, is at number 4. Of course, we are sure all the price cuts helped, but interestingly, the iPhone X, which was released alongside it, did not make the top ten (although this could have been because of a rumored production stoppage). It is also curious that though people preferred the XS Max to the XS in this period, they preferred the 8 to the 8 Plus.
The missing brand
Of the top five bestselling smartphone brands in the world as per IDC, four had phones in the top ten. The one that missed out was the number two smartphone brand, Huawei. No, it is no use blaming the Android controversy for this as the brand did brisk business overall. It just did not have a single star performer. Incidentally, Oppo too did not have any new devices in the top ten – its sole entrant was the budget A5 released in mid-2018. Clearly a case of two brands whose sales are spread over a wide portfolio of devices and are not focused on a few star performers.
A blend of all price bands among four brands
The list of top ten devices is a blend of three premium devices (iPhone XS Max, iPhone XR, and iPhone 8), four mid-segment (Oppo A5, Redmi Note 7, Galaxy A30, Galaxy A50), and three relatively lower-segment devices (Redmi 6A, Galaxy A10 and Galaxy J2 Core). Apple has three phones in the top ten, Samsung four, Redmi two and Oppo one.
The missing ones (and OnePlus) are so notable
Ask people to guess the top ten bestselling smartphones in the world and a number of names would come up. Interestingly, many of them do not make the list at all. Notable by their absence are Google’s Pixel series, the Galaxy Note and S series (which we have remarked upon), Huawei’s P30 series and of course, the biggest absentee in our book, OnePlus. Not a single OnePlus makes it to the top ten. Yes, some might talk about limited availability in some markets, but considering the way the brand has been growing, we did expect to see a OnePlus out there, even if it was a slightly older one.
