iPhone 13 is helping Apple destroy Android in the premium smartphone market

By Stephen Warwick
published

Iphone 13 Review Hero Resized
Iphone 13 Review Hero Resized (Image credit: Joseph Keller / iMore)

What you need to know

  • New research indicates Apple continues to dominate the premium smartphone sector.
  • Counterpoint says that it holds a 62% share of phones that cost more than $400.
  • It dwarfed its nearest rival Samsung.

New research from Counterpoint reveals that Apple is absolutely destroying Android when it comes to its share of the global premium smartphone market.

New research published Thursday indicates Apple has upped its Q1 share in the premium market ($400 or more) from 57% last year to a whopping 62% this year. The premium market did shrink year on year, but less so than the overall smartphone market, the eighth consecutive quarter where premium won this battle.

From the report:

Apple continued to lead the premium market, exceeding 60% share for the second consecutive quarter. This was driven by the iPhone 13 series. The iPhone 13 has been the best-selling model globally each month since October 2021. This was also the highest first quarter share for Apple in the premium segment since Q1 2017.

The report says that Apple's best iPhone, the iPhone 13, has been the number one model globally every month from October 2021, giving Apple its highest Q1 share of the premium segment in five years.

Meanwhile, Android rival Samsung is struggling, seeing its share decline from 18% to 16% year on year because of delays to the S22 series.

According to Counterpoint's figures, the top premium smartphones by sales share to open the year were the iPhone 13 (23%), iPhone 13 Pro Max (13%), iPhone 13 Pro (9%), and then the iPhone 12. Samsung's Galaxy S22 Ultra is the first Android device on the list taking a meager 3%. That means Apple's latest flagship iPhone captured 45% of the market despite the fact that its iPhone 14 is just a few months away.

While Apple isn't reportedly planning a big design overhaul for the iPhone 14 this year, we can expect improvements in the form of a new 48MP camera, a hole-punch notch, an always-on display, a new processor (for the Pro models), and more if reports are to be believed.

If you don't want to wait that long or you aren't interested in Apple's latest and greatest, then the upcoming Amazon Prime Day sale and these Prime Day iPhone deals are a much better place to look.

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Stephen Warwick
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

1 Comment
  • This is hardly news. Android has always dominated the low end and very low end. All of which explains why developers make 80% of their money from iPhones. If all you can afford is a cheap Android phone, then you won’t be buying any apps either.