Samsung’s Galaxy A51 Was the World’s Top Android Smartphone in the First Quarter

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May 14, 2020 Topic: Economics Region: World Blog Brand: Techland Tags: SamsungSamsung GalaxySmart PhoneGalaxy A51Android

Samsung’s Galaxy A51 Was the World’s Top Android Smartphone in the First Quarter

A fascinating showing.

The research firm Strategy Analytics put out numbers this week showing that Samsung’s Galaxy A51 was the top-selling Android smartphone of the first quarter of 2020, with six million units shipped. However, the A51 took that title with only just over two percent market share, indicating that the Android market is extremely spread out.

According to the research firm’s Global Smartphone Shipments by Model for Q1 2020, the Xiaomi Redmi 8 is the number two Android smartphone with 1.9 percent share, while overall, customers have flocked to more affordable models. Samsung’s S20+ was third, at 1.7 percent, and it was the only premium phone to crack the top six.

Of the top six phones worldwide, Samsung took 4 of the 6 top spots, with Xiaomi taking the other two. Samsung Galaxy A10s, Xiaomi Redmi Note 8, and Samsung Galaxy A20s took the fourth, fifth and sixth spots.

Meanwhile, 86 percent of the 275 million smartphones sold worldwide are Android-based.

“Samsung’s A51 smartphone is popular in all regions, particularly across Europe and Asia. Xiaomi Redmi 8 is the world’s second most popular Android smartphone model, taking 1.9 percent marketshare in Q1 2020,” Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, said in the release.

“Xiaomi’s Redmi smartphone range is selling very well in India and China and increasingly across Europe. Samsung’s Galaxy S20+ held third position with 1.7 percent share, the only super-premium model appearing in our top-six ranking.”

Strategy Analytics said last month that smartphone shipments overall fell 17 percent in the first quarter, for the worst decline in the category’s history. By brand, rather than individual phone, Samsung held 21 percent market share, with Huawei second with 18 percent and Apple third with 14 percent.

According to Counterpoint Research numbers released earlier this month, the top three smartphones in the U.S. in the first quarter were all iPhones, with the iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone XR finishing first, second and third, followed by the Samsung A10e and A20.

“As mobile operators have reduced subsidies in recent years, and many countries are now tumbling into post-virus recession, smartphone consumers globally are becoming increasingly price-sensitive and they are seeking out new Android models that deliver the biggest bang for their buck,” Julia Winter, associate director of strategy at the firm, said in the announcement.

Stephen Silver, a technology writer for The National Interest, is a journalist, essayist and film critic, who is also a contributor to Philly Voice, Philadelphia Weekly, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Living Life Fearless, Backstage magazine, Broad Street Review and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. Follow him on Twitter at @StephenSilver.

Image: Reuters