Apple iPhone 8 Plus becomes the first Plus model to outsell the smallest sized iPhone: Canalys report

Ever since the launch of Apple iPhone 6 Plus, the smaller sized non-Plus counterparts of those phones always oversold them. [caption id=“attachment_4037413” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] iPhone 8 Plus. Apple[/caption] This could be because of the screen-size preference or the comparatively lower price of the non-Plus models. However, iPhone 8 Plus has become the first device in the market to oversell the iPhone 8. According to a recent report by Canalys research firm, the large-sized variant of the iPhone 8, the iPhone 8 Plus oversold the non-Plus variant in the third quarter of 2017. The iPhone 8 Plus sold about 6.3 million while 8 sold about 5.4 million units. Though, older generations still toppled the latest iPhones in terms of demand. According to the report, Apple sold about 13 million iPhone 7 devices probably because of the price cut. iPhone 7 was followed by iPhone 6S with about 7.9 million devices in the sale. [caption id=“attachment_4039679” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] The company has priced iPhone 8 starting at Rs 64,000 and iPhone 8 Plus starting at Rs 73,000.[/caption] Samsung J7 Prime closed to take its spot in the ‘Top smartphone models in Q3 2017’ by selling about 7.8 million devices. Moving back to iPhones, the report points out that iPhone SE devices also observed a surge in demand. Talking about the older and latest generation iPhones, Canalys pointed out that about 14 million iPhone 7 and 7 Plus devices were sold in the quarter they were launched in contrast to about 11.8 million iPhone 8 and 8 Plus devices sold in their launch quarter this time. Ben Stanton, an analyst added, “Apple is clearly making a portfolio play here. With the launch of the iPhone X, it now has 5 tiers of iPhone and delivers iOS at more price bands than ever before. This is a new strategy for Apple. It is aggressively defending its market share, but it will not compromise its rigid margin structure to do so.” [caption id=“attachment_4202687” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Top smartphones in Q3 2017. Canalys[/caption] Apple was not the only highlight of the report, as it confirmed that Samsung maintained its spot as the top smartphone vendor in Q3 2017. The South Korean smartphone and electronics giant managed to ship around 82.8 million smartphones with about 8.2 percent growth and 22 percent market share. This strong performance could be attributed to healthy sales of discounted Samsung Galaxy S8 smartphones and ‘strong’ demand for Samsung J-series in the Middle East and India. The company managed to ship about 4.4 million units of its latest flagship, the Samsung Galaxy Note 8. Though, the report emphasised that AI, AR and VR along with new design are the future. Stanton added by saying, “It discounted the Galaxy S8 in several major countries in Q3, which helped ease inventory buildup from the previous quarter. In total, it shipped 10.3 million devices from its Galaxy S8 range in Q3. But Samsung’s Golden period of having a differentiated product has now ended. Apple, Google, Huawei and others have all introduced new smartphones with 18:9 displays and thin bezels.” [caption id=“attachment_4202685” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Top smartphone vendors in Q3 2017. Canalys[/caption] Apple trailed Samsung in the ‘Top five smartphone vendors in Q3 2017’ list on the second spot with 46.7 million units shipped. Huawei found itself on the third spot while Oppo and Xiaomi grabbed the 4th and 5th spot respectively. Last but not the least, one of the most significant parts of the report was the 86.9 percent growth reported by Xiaomi. The Chinese smartphone and electronics maker is closing the gap on its rival, Oppo which stands on number 4 at the time of writing.