iPhone 11 most popular phone by far in first half of 2020

Photos on iPhone 11 Pro
Photos on iPhone 11 Pro (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Apple's iPhone 11 was the most popular smartphone in the first half of this year.
  • That's according to new research from Omdia.
  • Apple reportedly shipped 37.7M units, 26M more than the next nearest competitor.

New research from Omdia suggests that Apple's iPhone 11 was the most popular smartphone by far in the first half of 2020.

New research shows that the iPhone 11 shipped 37.7M units in the first half of the year, 26M units more than its closest competitor, the Galaxy A51, and nearly 10M units more than the iPhone XR last year, which was also the most popular phone.

The report notes:

Like iPhone XR last year, the cheapest of the 2019 iPhones ranked first in global shipments this year. Despite the impact of Covid-19 in the first half of this year and the movement restrictions imposed in various countries along with it, and production disruptions, 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 research says Apple's iPhone SE, released in April, shipped some 8.7M units in the second quarter of 2020, which saw it land fifth on the list.

Omdia Sales

Omdia Sales (Image credit: Omdia)

As you can see from the table, Apple's iPhone 11 Pro and Pro Max also made the list, ranking higher in terms of popularity than the iPhone Xs and Xs Max despite lower shipment volumes.

Apple reportedly shipped 13% more iPhones than the same period last year. With the iPhone 12 release date nearly upon us, Apple's iPhone 11 range has nearly come to the end of its current lifespan.

Stephen Warwick
News Editor

Stephen Warwick has written about Apple for five years at iMore and previously elsewhere. He covers all of iMore's latest breaking news regarding all of Apple's products and services, both hardware and software. Stephen has interviewed industry experts in a range of fields including finance, litigation, security, and more. He also specializes in curating and reviewing audio hardware and has experience beyond journalism in sound engineering, production, and design.

Before becoming a writer Stephen studied Ancient History at University and also worked at Apple for more than two years. Stephen is also a host on the iMore show, a weekly podcast recorded live that discusses the latest in breaking Apple news, as well as featuring fun trivia about all things Apple. Follow him on Twitter @stephenwarwick9