If Apple was doing so badly with the iPhone X, according to all those stock-manipulating Wall Street analysts, whose collective and individual reputations have been severely battered once more when it comes to all things Apple, why were Apple's results so good?
And why has Strategy Analytics pegged Apple iPhone X as the "world's best-selling smartphone model in Q1 2018?".
You'll have to come to your own conclusion, and you know what I think by reading the introductory paragraph to this article above.
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Yes, all of these mind-numbingly idiotic reports of smartphone saturation are complete crap when you realise that people's phones get older every year if they haven't been replaced, with features that far surpass models of old, especially if already beyond the two-year mark.
On top of that, phones break, they get old, they get lost, they get stolen, and at some point, consumers will buy a new model, because they want a faster processor, better screen, slimmer size, new battery, more RAM, newer OS version, availability of accessories and plenty more. They want their apps to work better, they want a new model, and guess what?
People buy! They buy whatever the price point, because there's a model to suit each segment of the market, and it just so happens that Apple has priced it iPhone not only at the level the market will bear, but at a level that earns Apple the profit it needs to create the next generation of technologies.
We're talking 345 million models from across the industry shipped in Q1 2018 alone, a traditionally quiet time after the previous Q4 end-of-year gift giving holiday Christmas season.
It's here that Strategy Analytics notes that "despite fears of expensive pricing, Apple iPhone X was the world’s best-selling smartphone model, shipping an impressive 16 million units during the quarter. Xiaomi Redmi 5A and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus were the world’s top-selling Android smartphone models".
Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global total smartphone shipments reached 345.4 million units in Q1 2018. The top-six most popular models together accounted for 1 in 7 of all smartphones shipped worldwide during the quarter.”
Juha Winter, senior analyst at Strategy Analytics, added, “We estimate the Apple iPhone X shipped 16.0 million units and captured 5% marketshare worldwide in Q1 2018.
"For the second quarter running, the iPhone X remains the world’s most popular smartphone model overall, due to a blend of good design, sophisticated camera, extensive apps, and widespread retail presence for the device. Apple has now shifted almost 50 million iPhone X units worldwide since commercial launch in November 2017.
"The Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus shipped 12.5 and 8.3 million units, respectively, for second and third place. The previous-generation iPhone 7 shipped a respectable 5.6 million units for fourth place. Combined together, Apple today accounts for four of the world’s six most popular smartphone models.”
So much for the iPhone X being a flop, or not popular – instead, the opposite has happened, and the iPhone X has been more popular than ever.
As for Xiaomi, we have Linda Sui, director at Strategy Analytics, who added:“We estimate Xiaomi Redmi 5A shipped 5.4 million units for fifth place and 2% marketshare worldwide in Q1 2018. Xiaomi has become wildly popular across India and China. Xiaomi is selling a huge volume of smartphones through online channels, with key retail partners including Flipkart and JD.”
Then we get to the Samsung S9 Plus with Woody Oh, director at Strategy Analytics, who added, “We estimate Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus shipped 5.3 million units for sixth place and 2% marketshare worldwide in Q1 2018. Samsung’s new flagships, Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus, only started shipping toward the end of the first quarter, but shipments are already off to a very good start.
"The S9 Plus delivers an attractive, bezel-less, curved-screen design, a rich portfolio of software apps, and best-in-class retail distribution across dozens of countries. We expect the S9 Plus to become the best-selling Android smartphone globally in the second quarter of 2018.”
Here's Exhibit 1: Global Smartphone Shipments & Marketshare by Model in Q1 2018 (numbers are rounded): – turn phone sideways to see full image if on mobile.
So, there you have it. The analysts got it wrong again, and the iPhone X is the top selling smartphone globally for two quarters running.
Looks like all those highly paid Wall Street armchair quarterbacks just don't know what they're talking about, and the reason to believe anything remains seriously in question.
