According to Trendforce data, Samsung beat Apple in smartphone sales in the first quarter of 2017.
But before high-end Galaxy owners start celebrating, the numbers aren’t quite as simple as that: Samsung was only able to beat Apple due to its low end budget devices such as the J-series handsets making up the numbers. Apple, on the other hand, stuck to its premium pricing model — while iPhone 7 excitement was tapered by the long-awaited iPhone 8.
Photo: Trendforce
As Trendforce notes, “Samsung’s sales results for its high-end smartphones fell short of expectations in the first quarter as consumers’ confidence in the brand had yet to fully recover from the recall of Galaxy Note.” While Samsung’s newly-released Galaxy S8 is likely to be a big seller for the company, Trendforce thinks it will find an iPhone-sized roadblock in its path. They write:
[T]he high-end model is expected to make limited sales contribution because the buzz surrounding the next-generation iPhone devices is dampening demand for products from non-Apple vendors. Samsung is expected to post flat growth for its second-quarter smartphone production volume.”
Sales of the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus meanwhile settled down after the massive launch quarter, probably in response to the number of stories about a massive tenth-anniversary iPhone 8 model set to launch later this year.
“The total production volume of all iPhone devices for the first quarter of 2017 fell by 36% compared with the previous quarter and declined by 41% versus the same period a year ago,” Trendforce claims, while revealing that the overall “results actually showed an overall improvement in iPhone sales.”
Are you planning to buy the iPhone 8 when it ships? Leave your comments below.
