Apple’s iPhone 11 ranks No. 1 in global shipments for 2020 despite COVID-19

Apple’s iPhone 11 is ranked as No. 1 in global shipments for 2020 despite the impact of COVID-19 in the first half of the year. According to Omdia’s Smartphone Model Tracker Q2’20 report, Apple shipped 37.7 million units of iPhone 11 in the first half of this year; iPhone 11 shipped 10.8 million more units than last year’s No. 1 iPhone XR, making it by far the single most popular smartphone model.

The report attributes the popular model’s No. 1 position to its low starting price. iPhone 11 launched $50 cheaper than last year’s iPhone XR while adding significant hardware improvements such as the dual-lens camera.

Moreover, the addition of iPhone SE (2020) helped Apple position four models in the global top 10 list. The iPhone SE shipped 8.7 million units in the second quarter. Growing consumer anxiety over the economic downturn due to COVID-19 and consumer demand for a small-sized iPhone are key drivers of successful market entry of iPhone SE, says the report. The iPhone 11 Pro Max and Pro – premium models of iPhone 11 series, ranked 7th and 10th respectively. Apple shipped 13 per cent more, as per Omdia’s smartphone market tracker report, iPhones in the second quarter this year compared to the previous year thanks to the success of the iPhone 11 and the newly released iPhone SE.

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As far as other smartphone brands are concerned, Samsung made it into the top 10 this year, with the Galaxy A51 taking the second place with a total of 11.4 million units shipped. The report pointed out that this is a significant shift for Samsung as the list had featured four of Samsung’s models last year. Xiaomi has four of its models in the top 10 this year. The models are from its Redmi line of devices – Redmi Note 8 and Redmi Note 8 Pro took 3^rd and 4^th place, priced $132 and $162 respectively. Xiaomi’s Redmi 8A and Redmi 8 ranked 8^th and 9^th.

Omdia highlights that consumers’ preference for low-end models is growing due to economic recession, thus Xiaomi smartphones continue to be popular in emerging markets.