Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy dominated the top phone sales of 2019

People sure love the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy.

According to a by market research firm Counterpoint Research, the Apple iPhone and Samsung Galaxy lines of smartphones were the top-selling devices of 2019. 

Apple took up a whopping six spots in the top 10 list based on global smartphone market share. The iPhone XR was the best-selling device of the year with a 3 percent market share around the world. The iPhone 11, Apple’s newest entry-level phone model, was in second.

With just over 2 percent of the global market share, the iPhone 11’s placement on this list is certainly notable. Apple released the phone on Sept. 20, 2019, giving it less than four months to rise as the second best-selling smartphone of the entire year.

Samsung’s Galaxy A50 and Galaxy A10 rounded out the next spots as the third and fourth best selling phones of 2019, respectively.

The only phone to make the top 10 list that wasn’t manufactured by Apple or Samsung was the Oppo A5, which was in fifth. The study also found that the Oppo A5 was the top-selling phone in China last year.

Further breaking down market share by region, Apple owns the North American smartphone market share. Its dominance in global market share is likely buoyed by its strong hold in the region, as Samsung’s Galaxy line of phones has a stronghold in nearly every other region around the world.

The report highlights how Huawei, the second-largest smartphone manufacturer in the world, has no devices in the top global market share list. Even in China, where its smartphone models are most popular, the Huawei P30 comes in only at fifth.

As 5G continues to roll out across the globe, it will be interesting to see if any particular smartphone company is able to capitalize on the major industry change and catapult themselves ahead of the competition.