iPhone X, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus Dominate Global Smartphone Market: Counterpoint

Even though analysts are dropping market estimates for the iPhone X, fresh reports by Counterpoint Research and Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) show the initial success of the latest iPhone range that includes the iPhone X as well as the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus. Counterpoint shows that the latest iPhone trio dominated the global top-selling smartphone board in November 2017. Similarly, a CIRP study claims that the 2017 iPhone line captured 61 percent of the total Apple iPhone market in the US in the fourth quarter.

According to Counterpoint's Market Pulse December Edition, the iPhone X gained leadership with a dominating market share of 6.6 percent, while the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus captured the second and third spots with 4.8 percent and 2.8 percent share, respectively. Following the three new iPhone models, it is the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 that got 1.7 percent of the premium smartphone market share. The analyst firm stated that the share of the Galaxy Note 8 was dropped sequentially.

Interestingly, the Galaxy Note 8 is followed by the iPhone 7 that managed to capture 1.4 percent of the total market last November. The iPhone 7 was launched as a flagship model by Apple in 2016, but the arrival of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus dropped its price and ultimately made it a compelling option against various Android flagships.

Apart from the top-five models, it was the Samsung Galaxy J7 Prime, Apple iPhone 6, Vivo X20, Oppo R11, and Samsung Galaxy S8+ that reached the bestselling smartphone list by Counterpoint Research. "Apple, Samsung, and Huawei, all three top brands had healthy double-digit percentage growth annually," said Pavel Naiya, Analyst, Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

Counterpoint Research considers a healthy year-over-year (YoY) growth in the Indian market in both smartphone and feature phone segments. Also, it mentions that despite the end of the festive season during Diwali, most of the brands in the Indian market are pushing out their inventories and promotional offers through various online and offline channels.

The newest consumer study from CIRP reveals that the iPhone X, iPhone 8, and iPhone 8 Plus captured nearly 61 percent of the total iPhone sales in the US in the fourth quarter, lower than the 72 percent share the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus made up in the same quarter in 2016. The iPhone X, among other models, captured about 20 percent of the total iPhone sales in the holiday quarter. The iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 7 Plus, and iPhone 8 Plus, on the other hand, resulted in 30 percent of the total sales. Moreover, half of the iPhone models sold during the quarter sport a screen larger than 4.7-inch. This is the largest share ever, as spotted by folks at 9to5Mac.

The CIRP study doesn't reveal the total number of iPhone models sold in the US. However, a recent claim by KGI points out that the iPhone X shipments will reach 18 million in the first quarter of 2018. The KGI report also predicted that the iPhone X will go to the end of life around the middle of this year to give space to the new models that would include a cheaper, 6.1-inch LCD version.