iPhone 12 Was Top Selling 5G Smartphone in October Despite Just 2 Weeks on Sale: Counterpoint

iPhone 12 was the best-selling 5G smartphone in the world in October despite being on sale for just two weeks, according to research firm Counterpoint. The report tracks market share of the top 10 5G smartphone models globally, and found that the iPhone 12 captured 16 percent market share in just two weeks of sales, followed by iPhone 12 Pro at 8 percent, pushing Samsung to third place with only 4 percent marketshare for the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G. Apple typically launches its new iPhone models in September, but the iPhone 12 series launch was delayed to October this year. The phones went on sale halfway through the month, but saw huge demand, with the iPhone 12's sales in two weeks being strong enough to put it into the ten top selling 5G phones since January.

Apple launched the iPhone 12 series in October. It includes iPhone 12, iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max. The iPhone 12 and 12 Pro were up for pre-orders first and were made available in mid-October. But even though the two phones were on sale for only two weeks in the month, the report by Counterpoint states the iPhone 12 became the best-selling 5G phone in the world with 16 percent market share, followed by the iPhone 12 Pro's 8 percent.

Next on the list is Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra 5G with 4 percent market share, followed by Huawei Nova 7 5G, Huawei P40 5G, Oppo A72 5G, and Huawei P40 Pro 5G at 3 percent each. Samsung Galaxy Note 20 5G, Samsung Galaxy S20 Plus 5G, and Oppo Reno 4 SE secured 2 percent market share each. It should be noted that all other smartphones in the list released much before the iPhone 12 series.

Counterpoint points out that Apple achieved this milestone because there was a “large pent-up demand for 5G upgrade, especially within the iOS base, which is now getting converted into sales”. Strong carrier promos accounted for over one-third of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro sales in October, according to the report. The iPhone 12's available in over 140 countries further boosted sales.

Thanks to the iPhone 12 series, the penetration of mmWave capable smartphones increased from 5 percent in September to 12 percent in October, the report said. Counterpoint further adds that the demand for iPhone 12 series is likely to stay strong through Q4, 2020. Also thanks to the iPhone 12 series, the report says that 24 percent of all the phones sold in the world in October were 5G phones, which is the highest ever market share for the technology.

iPhone 12 Pro Series Is Amazing, but Why Is It So Expensive in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.