According to a new Strategy Analytics report, Apple's flagship iPhone X was the world's best-selling smartphone model in first quarter with 16 million units sold worldwide, followed by iPhone 8 and 8 Plus.
The estimates further debunk the notion that iPhone X was a "flop" or a "failure," a theory posited by some analysts leading up to Apple's earnings report for the second fiscal quarter of 2018. In addition, the top four models in the world, both in terms of shipment amounts and market share, are iPhones, with iPhone 8 and 8 Plus taking second and third place.
The report also found that a total of 345 million smartphone units were sold globally in the first quarter. The top Android models were the Xiaomi Redmi 5A and Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus.
Apple does not release sales figures on individual iPhone sales, but the company said in this week's earnings conference call that it sold 52.2 million iPhones, and that the iPhone X sold the most units of any iPhone model throughout the quarter.
"Customers chose iPhone X more than any other iPhone each week in the March quarter, just as they did following its launch in the December quarter," CEO Tim Cook said. "Since we split the line with the launch of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus in 2014, this is the first cycle in which the top of the line iPhone model has also been the most popular."
That jibes with Strategy Analytics' observations.
"Apple has now shifted almost 50 million iPhone X units worldwide since commercial launch in November 2017. The Apple iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus shipped 12.5 and 8.3 million units, respectively, for second and third place," said Juha Winter, Senior Analyst for Strategy Analytics. "The previous-generation iPhone 7 shipped a respectable 5.6 million units for fourth place. Combined together, Apple today accounts for four of the world's six most popular smartphone models."
Just behind the iPhone 7 was the Redmi 5A, an entry-level smartphone for first-time buyers, followed by the Galaxy S9 Plus with 5.3 million units sold.
It is important to note that Galaxy S9 Plus was released just three weeks prior to the end of the first quarter, so it's impressive that it made it onto this list.