Say what you want about the iPhone 5S but it is still the best selling smart phone model right now. Despite being 8 months old, it still manages to outsell newer 2014 flagship models for the month of May 2014 according to a market research report by Counterpoint.
Samsung in the other hand clinches more spots with the Samsung Galaxy S5, Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 taking #2, #3 and #4 spots respectively. Surprisingly Apple’s iPhone 5C still manages #5 followed by its over 2 year old iPhone 4S at #6.
Without specifying exact sales numbers, it might be possible that Samsung had cannibalised its own #1 top selling position with its own excessive number of smart phones in the market. They are currently on a 2 flagship model cycle and this year we might see 3 flagship models with the introduction of Samsung Galaxy Alpha next month.
While Samsung dominates half of the top ten models, they are obviously getting some pressure from Chinese brands like Xiaomi. For the month of May, Xiaomi had managed to get the #7 spot for its flagship Mi 3 while its cheaper Redmi is ranked at #9. Not surprising considering they have reported a massive 271% increase of smart phone shipments in the past 6 months compared to last year. Counterpoint had reported that the affordable Redmi is ranked #1 best selling smart phone in China for April 2014.
Recently we are seeing the rise of cheap and cheerful smart phones in the market. The Chinese smart phone makers are getting very aggressive in this area and have certainly caused disruption to the mainstream players. Some of the big brands had responded to such trend including Motorola with its Moto G and Moto E while HTC had introduced its high performance and affordably priced HTC One E8. What’s certain is that consumers are definitely spoilt for choice and anyone can easily afford a decent smart phone without burning a hole in their pocket.
