• Apple’s iPhone 11 is the king in the first half by outsells nearest rival by 26m units
• Huawei fails to make the top 10 list while Samsung’s premium devices also fail to make a mark.
• iPhone XR was ranked first last year.

Bengaluru: Apple’s iPhone 11 was the world’s most-shipped smartphone in the first half of this year with 37.7 million units.

Like iPhone XR last year, the cheapest of the 2019 iPhones ranked first in global shipments this year.

According to research firm Omdia, iPhone 11 shipped 10.8 million more units than last year’s No. 1, iPhone XR. A key driver for the success of iPhone 11 is the lower starting price.

 iPhone 11 launched $50 cheaper than the previous iPhone XR while adding significant hardware improvements, like a dual-lens camera. iPhone XR did not feature such upgrades.

The addition of iPhone SE (2020) to Apple’s portfolio in April of this year helped the company position four models in the global top 10 list.

iPhone SE, a new budget iPhone, shipped 8.7 million units in the second quarter – good enough for fifth in first half shipment volume.

Growing consumer anxiety over the economic downturn due to Covid-19 and consumer demand for a small-sized iPhone are key drivers of successful market entry of iPhone SE.

iPhone 11 Pro Max and Pro, the premium models of the iPhone 11 series, ranked seventh and tenth, respectively.

Shipments of these two models decreased compared to the previous iPhone Xs Max and Xs, but their rankings improved.

Apple shipped 13 per cent more iPhones in the second quarter this year compared to the previous year due to the success of the iPhone 11 and the newly-released iPhone SE.

More Xiaomi models on the list

On the other hand, only one Samsung model made the top 10 this year. Like last year, a mid-end smartphone, the Galaxy A51, took the second place with a total of 11.4 million units shipped. This is a significant shift for Samsung, as this list featured four Samsung’s models last year. No Samsung flagship device reached the top 10.

Xiaomi has four top 10 this year – all from the Redmi line of devices. Xiaomi replaced Samsung’s entry-level and mid-range devices with its own models in this year’s top 10.

Xiaomi doubled the number of models in the top 10 from last year’s list. Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8 Pro models took thirrd and fourth place, respectively.

The two models were priced at $132 and $162, respectively. In addition, Xiaomi’s Redmi 8A and Redmi 8, ranking 8th and 9th, were priced at $85 and $97, respectively. The performance of lower priced smartphone models is leveling upwards and consumers’ preference for low-end models is growing due to the economic recession, this makes Xiaomi smartphones popular in emerging markets.

Lastly, total shipment leader in the second quarter of this year Huawei, failed to make the top 10 list with any of its devices for the first half of this year. Huawei’s smartphone business is under increasing pressure from US sanctions, impacting the company’s overseas business. Other OEMs not making this top ten list include Oppo and vivo.