Apple’s iPhone 14 Pro Max is perhaps the most popular smartphone worldwide of 2023. Omdia has released a report which includes the list of the top 10 best-selling smartphones of the first half of 2023. It shows that Apple’s premium handset has not only topped the rank above its own but has also outperformed all Android competitors.
According to the report, Apple has crushed other smartphone OEMs by a mile in global shipments. The US technology giant sold a total of 79.5 million iPhones during the six months of the year. And of all, the iPhone 14 Pro Max smartphone contributed most to the highly encouraging data.
Omdia reports that 26.5 million units of iPhone 14 Pro Max were sold in the first half of 2023 staying way ahead of other iPhones and Android devices. At 2nd, is the iPhone 14 Pro which shipped 21 million units during the same period while the base variant iPhone 14 ranking 3rd sold 16.5 million units. The previous generation device iPhone 13 at 4th sold 15.5 million units.
iPhones come at hefty prices with the top-end ones costing way over $1,000. So, it’s safe to assume that Apple’s revenue went close to a massive $100 billion during the first six months of 2023.
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Top 10 best-selling phones of the first half of 2023
The list that is overwhelmingly dominated by Apple, Samsung, its fiercest South Korean competitor makes a bow at fifth. The device in concern here is a mid-range model Samsung Galaxy A14 which sold 12.4 million units during the H1 of 2023. Samsung however, managed to have its high-end device on the list. The Galaxy S23 Ultra ranked 6th with 9.6 million units shipped globally.
This reflects the gulf between Android and iPhones which is also impacting both companies’ financial showings. As Apple is selling a record number of devices which are presumably all premium models, Samsung’s mid-range device is its highest-selling. It is one of the reasons, Samsung posted a historically low financial report for the second quarter of 2023.
| Rank | Smartphones | Shipments (in millions) |
| 1 | iPhone 14 Pro Max | 26.5 |
| 2 | iPhone 14 Pro | 21 |
| 3 | iPhone 14 | 16.5 |
| 4 | iPhone 13 | 15.5 |
| 5 | Galaxy A14 | 12.4 |
| 6 | Galaxy S23 Ultra | 9.6 |
| 7 | Galaxy A14 5G | 9.0 |
| 8 | Galaxy A54 5G | 8.8 |
| 9 | Galaxy A34 5G | 7.6 |
| 10 | iPhone 11 | 7.4 |
Samsung dominates the bottom half
Samsung did manage to dominate the leaderboard at the bottom half with the other three mid-range devices at the 7th, 8th, and 9th ranks with its A series smartphones. iPhone 11 rested 10th with a decent 7.4 million units of shipment despite being 4 years older. Check out: Samsung Mobile Phone Price in Nepal with Specs | Latest Update
Android is an open-source OS and for that reason, many OEMs take it up to use on their own devices. Besides Samsung, Xiaomi, realme, vivo, OPPO, etc. try their best with each of their devices to outperform each other and contest Apple. However, the US company, despite selling mostly expensive smartphones remains popular, at least as the shipment figures point out.
Apple vs Android is a forever-running debate with fans of each platform giving their best to justify their own preference. However, when it comes to shipment, Apple has absolutely dominated its arch-rival. The US company is now preparing for the launch of its iPhone 15 series at its ‘Wonderlust’ event on September 12.
Do you agree that the iPhone 14 Pro Max is or should be the best smartphone of 2023? Do share in the comments.
