Smartphone: This is the most popular smartphone in the world

For the last few years, the iPhone has always emerged as one of the — if not the — most popular smartphones in the world. It looks like 2023 isn’t going to be any different. Or at least the first half of it as a report by Omdia suggests that the iPhone 14 Pro Max is the most popular smartphone in the world. Notably, the iPhone 14 Pro Max is also the most expensive iPhone one can buy. “The iPhone 14 Pro Max is the most shipped smartphone worldwide in the first half of this year, with Apple shipping a total of 26.5 million units,” noted Omdia’s Smartphone Model Market Tracker. The data is for the first half of 2023.

Demand for premium phones on the rise

The report also highlights that the global smartphone market is recording negative growth. As per Omdia, this is primarily because the “the mid- to low-end market shrinks due to economic recession and the expansion of the used smartphone market.”
The premium smartphone market, on the other hand, is steadily increasing because replacement demand for Apple’s premium models remains solid. “In addition, as the preference for Apple increases as a premium smartphone, especially within emerging markets, the sales volume and proportion of high-end models such as Pro and Max continue to increase among Apple’s iPhone series,” notes the report.
The forecast for next year is also not too good for the smartphone market. “The slump in the mid- to low-end market is expected to continue into the second half of this year, and the increasing portion of the premium market is expected to continue in the second half of this year with the launch of the new iPhone 15 series,” said Jusy Hong, senior research manager, Omdia.
Hong said that Apple will see a similar trend for iPhones. “Apple’s shipments of Pro and Pro Max will increase due to solid demand for premium models, but overall iPhone shipments this year will be similar to last year or decrease slightly due to weak demand for standard and plus models.”