iPhone 12 has replaced the iPhone 11 to become the best selling model in Q1 this year. Last year, the iPhone 11 was the best selling model in Q1 2020, and its successor, the iPhone 12, has rightly replaced it this year. The company’s strategy to offer an iPhone at different price points seems to have worked, but it’s not the iPhone 12, which shot to fame in no time, but several factors that we will talk about later have helped it achieve the feat.
The new data comes from Counter Research global handset tracker that claims that iPhones dominated the smartphone industry in the first quarter of 2021. Interestingly, the market research firm data shows that four of the five best selling phones in Q1 2021 were iPhones.
The report talks about top smartphones in terms of volumes and revenue share in the first quarter. In terms of volume share, iPhone 12 beat all other phones in the quarter, with no other Samsung, Huawei or Xiaomi phones in the top five. The closest device to the iPhone 12 is its sibling, the iPhone 12 Pro Max. Counterpoint Research says that 5G support and the late launch of the iPhone 12 series have helped Apple maintain steady growth even in 2021.
iPhone 11, the iPhone from 2019 that followed the iPhone XR footsteps and packed almost as powerful chipset as the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, helped it rake in the cash counters in the first quarter of 2021. As per Counterpoint data, the iPhone 11 was the fourth best selling phone in Q1 2021 after iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and iPhone 12 Pro.
We can credit the iPhone 11 partially for the success of the iPhone 12 this year as the popularity of the low-end iPhone, which makes it a value for money proposition for iPhone lovers, along with 5G support, made it a better looking overall package than the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G. In India, the iPhone 12 price in India starts at Rs 79,900 and goes up to Rs 94,900 for the 256GB storage model. In terms of specs, the iPhone 12 packs almost identical under the hood prowess as the iPhone 12 Pro.
Some similarities include the 6.1-inch Super Retina XDR display, 5G support, A14 Bionic chip, water-resistant body, and a battery that promises the same backup as the Pro model. One of the biggest differences between the iPhone 12 and iPhone 12 Pro is the camera and available storage trims. On paper, the iPhone 12 feels like a good value for money model with prices starting at Rs 79,900 while the Pro model starts at Rs 119,900 – a massive price difference of Rs 40,000.
To compare, the Galaxy S21 5G has been selling around the same price as the iPhone 12 but is not among the top 10 smartphones by volume share in this quarter. The Counterpoint data also shows that the iPhone 12 mini, the device that may not see a successor this year if some reports are to be believed, beat the Samsung Galaxy S21 5G in terms of revenue share in the first quarter of 2021.
As per Counterpoint Research, the iPhone 12 was the top-selling model in the first quarter, while the iPhone 12 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Pro closely followed. The iPhone 11 still managed to seuxure a place in the top 10 smartphones in the quarter, while others phones are Redmi 9A, Redmi 9, Samsung Galaxy A12, Redmi Note 9, Samsung Galaxy A21S, and Samsung Galaxy A31.
The data revealed by Counterpoint also revealed the top 10 smartphones in terms of revenue share in the quarter, and iPhone 12 Pro Max beat all other devices, and we are not surprised there at all. Considering the high starting price of Rs 1,29,900, there’s no doubt that the iPhone 12 Pro Max was the phone that got the max share in terms of revenue. The report also claimed that in some regions, users preferred the top storage model of devices. It adds that the iPhone 12 Pro Max was the best-selling model in the US. The trend of higher storage variants doing better than lower variants was also visible in some other brands like Samsung for the Galaxy S21 Ultra 5G in the US and Europe, according to Counterpoint data for Q1 2021.
The success story of the iPhone 12 Pro Max is one reason why brands like OnePlus, Xiaomi, and Oppo are targeting premium customers in global markets. In India, the OnePlus 9 Pro, with a starting price of Rs 64,999, is the most costly OnePlus device launched till now, while Xiaomi’s Mi 11 Ultra 5G at Rs 69,999 is its most premium device to date. Similarly, Oppo’s Find X3 series was a shot at the premium segment.
