The iPhone 13 was the third best-selling smartphone of 2021, despite only being on sale for three months, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise to learn that Apple’s device is off to an extremely strong start in 2022.
The iPhone 13 dominates the smartphone market
analyst Francisco Jeronimo from IDC reports that Apple’s iPhone 13 was the best-selling smartphone globally in the quarter ending March 2022. Apple was facing it at the time. IDC has chosen not to disclose the total number of units sold. It also did not disclose the phone’s individual market share. But the iPhone 12 and iPhone 11 were the top-selling phones of 2021 and 2020 respectively, so the iPhone 13’s strong start was to be expected. As a reminder, the iPhone 13 retails for $799 in the United States and offers the latest A15 Bionic chipset along with a dual-camera setup and a 6.1-inch notched screen. That’s on top of iOS 15, right out of the box. If we look at the competition, it seems that the iPhone 13 mainly fought a direct battle with the other models from Apple. The 6.7-inch iPhone 13 Pro Max took second place in Q1 2022, suggesting that people are more than willing to pay a small premium for access to a larger screen.
Apple’s current results mean the iPhone 14 series could do even better
One thing is clear from Apple’s latest results: the company seems to have found the perfect two smartphone sizes. And that could dramatically increase demand with the iPhone 14 debut in September.
Apple’s two 6.1-inch iPhone models made the top 5 last quarter. These devices are likely to be popular with customers of older 5.8-inch or 4.7-inch iPhones. There may even be some interest from those replacing their old 4-inch phones.
But perhaps more importantly, Apple’s 6.7-inch Pro model surpassed the 6.1-inch version. This trend, which has been consistent since the launch of iPhone 12 in late 2020, suggests that there is generally more demand for larger iPhones.
Samsung currently occupies the two remaining top positions
Returning to the current top 5, it is that Samsung manages to fill in the gaps, although it did not with the flagship Galaxy S22 series. Unfortunately, demand for those aircraft wasn’t strong enough to warrant a top spot. Instead, the brand occupies the positions with two budget devices: the entry-level Galaxy A12 took third place in the January-March quarter and the mid-range Galaxy A32 took fifth place.
Samsung is the current leader in the low-end smartphone segment and is likely to keep the crown in the coming quarters. Both the Galaxy A12 and Galaxy A32 have since been replaced by the newer Galaxy A13 and Galaxy A33, further contributing to Samsung’s mission to provide 5G support at all price points.
