The Apple iPhone 7 outsold all other smartphone models globally during the first six months of 2017, followed by the iPhone 7 Plus, according to a new report from\u00a0information and analytics firm, IHS Markit.<\/p>\n
The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Plus held the number three spot, followed by iPhone 6s and Galaxy S8 in in fourth and fifth places, respectively.<\/p>\n
Galaxy S8 Plus was the number six best seller, with slightly less volume than the Galaxy S8.<\/p>\n
Flagship models from Apple and Samsung had sluggish sales in the first half of 2017, IHS Markit analysts said.<\/p>\n
Although the latest iPhone models secured top positions, shipment volume declined compared to their respective predecessor models, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, during the same period in 2016.<\/p>\n
The smaller-screen 4.7-inch display iPhone models ranked in the top positions in first half of three consecutive years beginning in 2015. However, their market share continues to fall, dropping from 10% in 2015 to 7% in 2016, and 5% in 2017.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy S8 flagship series recorded a smaller shipment volume this year. \u201cThis is likely because Samsung began selling the Galaxy S8 and S8+ models in April, a month later than last year\u2019s launch of the S7 series,\u201d said Jusy Hong, associate director – mobile devices for IHS Markit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shipment ranking of the Galaxy S8 Plus fell to number six, compared to the fourth-place Galaxy S7 Edge in 2016.\u201d<\/p>\n
Five Samsung models, four Apple models, and one Oppo model ranked in the top 10 most-shipped smartphones in the first half of 2017.<\/p>\n
The number of smartphone models with more than a million shipments per month increased in the first half of this year to 22 from 17 in 2016. \u201cThis is a direct result of smartphone OEM efforts to select and concentrate in order to improve product portfolios and increase profitability,\u201d Hong said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn addition, more Chinese OEMs are selling their smartphone models outside of China, which intensifies competition and generates more globally popular models.\u201d<\/p>\n
Among the 22 top-shipping models so far this year are eight Chinese models that shipped more than 6 million units in H1 2017: five from Oppo, two from Xiaomi and one from Huawei, IHS Markit reported.<\/p>\n
Samsung had 10 models that shipped more than one million units per month respectively, while Apple had four.<\/p>\n