iPhone 12 Becomes Best-Selling Smartphone Globally in January 2021: Counterpoint

Apple iPhone 12 led the list of the top 10 best-selling smartphones followed by the iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max, according to Counterpoint.

By Jagmeet Singh | Updated: 10 April 2021 15:01 IST

iPhone 12 Becomes Best-Selling Smartphone Globally in January 2021: Counterpoint

iPhone 12 was launched alongside three other iPhone models in October last year

Highlights

iPhone 12 emerged as the best-selling smartphone globally
Apple took six places in the global top 10 best-selling smartphones list
iPhone 12 Pro Max was the top-selling model in the US

iPhone 12 has emerged as the best-selling smartphone globally in January 2021, according to a report by market research firm Counterpoint. The report says the iPhone 12, alongside the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max, accounted for 71 percent of Apple's smartphone sales for the month. The iPhone 12 series — comprising the iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, and iPhone 12 mini — was launched in October last year, a bit later than Apple's regular iPhone launch schedule. The phones come with 5G support and have updated designs over the iPhone 11 series with flat edges. Both these additions are said to have helped Apple get more customers against the competition.

Counterpoint, in its Market Pulse report released on Friday, said that Apple dominated the best selling smartphones list, and it grabbed as many as six places in the global top 10 best-selling smartphone models in January. The iPhone 12 led the list followed by the iPhone 12 Pro and the iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Not surprisingly, almost one-third of Apple's iPhone 12 series sales came from the US, Counterpoint said in its report. It added that strong carrier promotions and demand for 5G in the country were among the top reasons behind Apple's growth. The iPhone 12 Pro Max was the top-selling model in the US, as consumers in the country preferred the top-end model over the regular iPhone 12.

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Following the iPhone 12 series, the iPhone 11 came as the fourth most-selling smartphone globally, according to Counterpoint. The iPhone 11 was launched in September 2019, and it did well in terms of sales across the globe even months after its launch. A report in February claimed that the iPhone 11 was the most shipped smartphone in 2020, with over 64.8 million units shipped worldwide.

In addition to the iPhone 11, the iPhone SE 2020 also managed to rank in the list of top-selling smartphones in January. The iPhone 12 mini, which is often considered to have not received the success on par with other iPhone 12 models, also made it to the top 10 best-selling smartphones list for January.

After the iPhone models, the affordable Redmi 9A and Redmi 9 by Xiaomi took the fifth and the sixth spot in the list, respectively. Both phones are said to have accounted for 25 percent of Xiaomi's total smartphone sales for the month.

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The Samsung Galaxy A21s managed to retain a place in the top 10 best-selling smartphones list for January with the Galaxy A31 being a new entry.

“With the 5G network rollouts picking pace, OEMs are launching more 5G devices across various price segments,” said Counterpoint Research Associate Monika Sharma. “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.”

iPhone 12 Pro Series Is Amazing, but Why Is It So Expensive in India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

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iPhone 12

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Very good build quality
Dolby Vision HDR video recording
Excellent cameras
Smooth performance in everyday use

Bad
Battery life could be better
Gets warm when stressed

Read detailed Apple iPhone 12 review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A14 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage 64GB

OS iOS 14

Resolution 1170x2532 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

iPhone 12 Pro

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Solid build quality
Excellent display
Dolby Vision video recording
Snappy overall performance
All-day battery life

Bad
Heats up when gaming
Not differentiated much from iPhone 12
Not great value

Read detailed Apple iPhone 12 Pro review

Display 6.10-inch

Processor Apple A14 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage 64GB

OS iOS 14

Resolution 1170x2532 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

iPhone 12 Pro Max

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Design
Display
Software
Performance
Battery Life
Camera
Value for Money

Good
Excellent build quality
Immersive display
Very good battery life
Versatile cameras
Speedy performance

Bad
Can be uncomfortable to hold
Heats up when gaming
Very expensive

Read detailed Apple iPhone 12 Pro Max review

Display 6.70-inch

Processor Apple A14 Bionic

Front Camera 12-megapixel

Rear Camera 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel + 12-megapixel

Storage 128GB

OS iOS 14

Resolution 1284x2778 pixels

More Apple mobiles Apple mobiles price in India

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Further reading: iPhone 12, Apple iPhone 12, iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro Max, iPhone 12 mini, Apple iPhone 11, iPhone 11, iPhone SE 2020, iPhone, Redmi 9A, Redmi 9, Samsung Galaxy A21s, Samsung Galaxy A31, Samsung, Apple, Xiaomi, Counterpoint