iPhone 12 was the best-selling smartphone in the world in January 2021: Counterpoint report

For January 2021, the iPhone 12 has emerged as the best-selling smartphone globally, as per a report shared by Counterpoint. And Apple’s run doesn’t end there. The iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max have also topped the same list of best-selling smartphones globally coming in second and third respectively. According to the report, the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max together accounted for 71% of Apple’s smartphone sales for January 2021.

Apple launched the iPhone 12 series in October last year, later than its usual September schedule. The series, comprising of the iPhone 12 mini, the iPhone 12, the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max all support 5G and came with a design update over the iPhone 11 series. And it looks like these two new features helped push the iPhone 12 series to the front, beating out the competition.

On Counterpoint’s Market Pulse report, Apple’s iPhone 12 mini, iPhone 11, and the iPhone SE 2020 were also a part of the top 10 best-selling smartphones in January 2021, giving Apple six slots out of the 10 along with the top three positions. The iPhone 11 was fourth on the list, the iPhone 12 mini came in eighth and the last Apple entry on the list was the iPhone SE 2020 that was launched earlier last year coming in tenth.

The report also pointed out that almost one-third of Apple’s iPhone 12 series sales came from the US and it is not surprising. Strong carrier promotions and the demand for 5G in the US were the main reason why Apple’s iPhone 12 series worked so well there, Counterpoint mentioned. The iPhone 12 Pro Max was the top-selling model in the US.

The presence of 2019’s iPhone 11 on the list of 2021’s best-sellers is not surprising either. According to reports, the iPhone 11 was the most shipped smartphone in 2020 with over 64.8 million units being shipped worldwide. It is evident that the device has managed to keep the momentum going.

Besides the six iPhones, the other best-sellers on the list included the Redmi 9A, the Redmi 9 in fifth and sixth slots. Both these phones together accounted for 25% of Xiaomi’s total smartphone sales in January 2021. The remaining two slots were taken up by Samsung, with the Samsung Galaxy A21S coming in seventh and the Samsung Galaxy A31 coming in ninth.

“With the 5G network rollouts picking pace, OEMs are launching more 5G devices across various price segments. 5G is slowly becoming a standard offering and as prices continue to come down, we will see more mid-tier 5G capable smartphones in the bestseller list in the coming months,” said Counterpoint Research Associate Monika Sharma.