iPhone XR Was the Best-Selling Smartphone in the US in Q4 2018

The fourth quarter of the year is when Apple’s latest smartphone offerings, released typically in September, ship in greater volumes and usually dominate the charts of best-selling smartphones both worldwide and in many key markets like the United States. In 2018, like in the year before, Apple introduced three models: the iPhone Xs Max, the iPhone Xs, and the iPhone XR.

The iPhone XR, launched in October, was expected to be the major model volume-wise due to its more affordable pricing but shared industrial design. The priciness of the iPhone X of 2017 was carried on to the Xs Max and Xs, with the Xs Max costing even more than the X ever did. With declining global demand for smartphones, higher ASPs are just about the only thing that can offset or soften a corresponding decline in revenues as has happened with smartphone shipments.

According to research just published by Strategy Analytics’ Smartphone Model Tracker (SMT) service, the iPhone XR was the best-selling smartphone model in the US in Q4 2018. Apple did very well in general, as there were altogether 5 iPhones in the top-10. Samsung continued to do well, too, with its Note 9, Galaxy S9 and two mid-range models, with LG making the list, too.

Across the border to the north, in Canada, the iPhone X was Apple’s top-selling model, though it didn’t quite make it to the no.1 rank overall. Samsung had two models, one of them being the Galaxy A8 (2018), that managed to beat the iPhone on its way to the top.

Interested in the shipments, market share, wholesale pricing, and specs of the top-50 best-selling smartphones in the United States and Canada? Clients of our SMT service can get these, and many other types of data here.