iPhone 6s Took Top Smartphone Honors in Q2 2016

Android devices might be the most ubiquitous smartphones in the world, but Apple’s iPhone is beginning to catch up in the marketing sales reports.
According to the latest research released Sept. 6 by Boston-based Strategy Analytics, Apple’s iPhone 6s was the world’s top-selling smartphone model in the second quarter of 2016. The Apple iPhone 6 and Samsung Galaxy S7 edge were the second- and third-highest selling models, respectively.

This comes as welcome news, no doubt, to Apple management as it readies for the Sept. 7 debut of the latest iPhone at a media event in downtown San Francisco. eWEEK will have a full report.

Total global smartphone shipments were basically flat at 1 percent growth annually, at 341.5 million in Q2 2016 from 338 million units in Q2 2015, the firm reported.

“Smartphone growth is sluggish at the moment due to ongoing economic volatility worldwide, high ownership penetration in most major countries, and a lack of new innovation from device manufacturers,” Linda Sui, a director at Strategy Analytics, said in the report.

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“We estimate the Apple iPhone 6s model shipped 14.2 million units and accounted for 4 percent share of all smartphones shipped worldwide in Q2 2016,” Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, said.

“Apple’s iPhone 6s is currently the world’s most popular smartphone. The iPhone 6s is wildly popular in dozens of countries globally, due to its attractive hardware design blended with rich features such as 4K video, large multi-touch display and fingerprint security.”

The Apple iPhone 6 shipped 8.5 million units worldwide for second position and 2 percent market share during Q2 2016, followed by Samsung Galaxy S7 edge in third place with 8.3 million and 2 percent share.

“Apple iPhone 6 has been on sale for almost two years and it remains near the top of best-seller lists in many regions like Europe,” said Woody Oh, director at Strategy Analytics.

“Samsung’s Galaxy S7 edge has proven popular among high-end consumers, and its curved hardware design has given the firm a differentiator that Apple’s iPhone portfolio does not yet offer.”