's iPhone 7 Apple (the 4.7-inch model) was the top smartphone on the market in terms of sales during the first half of 2017, managing to beat all other devices from competing companies, including Samsung.
The smaller iPhone model was the top choice of consumers around the world, while the larger iPhone 7 Plus was the winner for the first half of the year. It was followed by the Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Plus, the iPhone 6s and the Samsung Galaxy S8. This means that Apple devices took three of the top five spots in the chart.
Although no figures were given on actual sales of each device, a survey by IHS Markit shows that devices made by both Apple and Samsung saw declining sales compared to their predecessors.
And yet, 4.7-inch iPhone models topped the charts for 3 consecutive years since 2015, despite their market share declining from 10% in 2015 to 7% in 2016 and 5% in 2017.
One thing worth keeping in mind when analyzing the performance of the Samsung Galaxy S8 is that this device hit the market in April, so its results in the first half of the year were significantly affected.
The research firm also notes that at least 22 smartphones have managed to surpass one million unit sales since 2016.
Chinese phone makers are doing quite well, with 8 models exceeding 6 million unit sales in the first half of the year: five from Oppo, two from Xiaomi, and one from Huawei.
