Apple's share of the worldwide smartphone market grew slightly in the first three months of 2018, despite Samsung launching the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ in March, according to research firms IDC and Strategy Analytics.
Apple on Tuesday reported that it sold 52.2 million iPhones last quarter. Based on that, the research firms estimate that the iPhone accounted for around 15.5 percent of smartphone shipments during the quarter, a slight increase from 14.7 percent in the year-ago period.
While the single-percentage-point growth is modest, the slight gain becomes more impressive when considering that the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S9+ launched March 16 in several countries, a full two weeks prior to the quarter ending. Pre-orders of the devices began even earlier on March 2.
Samsung shipped 78.2 million smartphones last quarter, according to the research firms, but its estimated 22.6 to 23.4 percent market share was essentially unchanged from the year-ago quarter, despite the bumped-up Galaxy S9 launch. Last year, the Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+ were released April 21.
Samsung continues to lead the smartphone market in shipments, but it sells a variety of handsets at a wide range of price points. Apple typically ships fewer iPhones, but the company captured an estimated 87 percent of smartphone profits in the December quarter, according to research firm Canaccord Genuity.
Apple doesn't disclose iPhone sales on a model-by-model basis, but given iPhone revenue increased 14 percent last quarter despite only a three percent rise in unit sales, the higher-priced iPhone X was likely a big factor.
Wednesday October 29, 2025 4:22 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple is about to drop iOS 26.1, the first major point release since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least six notable changes and improvements to look forward to. We've rounded them up below.
Apple has already provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 26.1, which means Apple will likely roll out the update to all compatible...
Monday October 27, 2025 7:55 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a handful of new features and changes for iPhones, including a toggle for changing the appearance of the Liquid Glass design, "slide to stop" for alarms in the Clock app, and more.
Below, we outline key details about iOS 26.1.
Release Date
Given that Apple has yet to seed an iOS 26.1 Release Candidate, which is typically the final beta version, the...
Friday October 31, 2025 1:40 pm PDT by Joe Rossignol
The upcoming iOS 26.1 update includes a small but helpful change for iPhones, and it could prevent you from running late to something important.
Specifically, when an alarm goes off in the Clock app, there is a new "slide to stop" control on the screen for turning off the alarm. On previous iOS 26 versions, there is simply a large "stop" button, which could be accidentally tapped.
The new ...
Thursday October 30, 2025 4:42 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.
One thing worth...
Friday October 31, 2025 7:32 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple has just given a strong indication that it will not be releasing any additional new Macs for the remainder of the year.
Apple's CFO Kevan Parekh dropped the hint during the company's earnings call on Thursday:On Mac, keep in mind, we expect to face a very difficult compare against the M4 MacBook Pro, Mac mini, and iMac launches in the year-ago quarter.Parekh essentially gave a heads up ...
Monday October 27, 2025 4:51 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple is designing an updated version of the Apple TV 4K, and rumors suggest that it could come out sometime in the next couple of months. We're not expecting a major overhaul with design changes, but even a simple chip upgrade will bring major improvements to Apple's set-top box.
Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos.
We've rounded up all the latest Apple TV rumors.
...
Wednesday October 29, 2025 7:13 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Rumors are stoking excitement for the next-generation iPad mini that Apple is reportedly close to launching. So what should we expect from the successor to the iPad mini 7 that Apple released over a year ago? Read on to find out.
Processor and Performance
Apple is working on a next-generation version of the iPad mini (codename J510/J511) that features the A19 Pro chip, according to...
Tuesday October 28, 2025 1:07 pm PDT by Juli Clover
Apple today provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of upcoming iOS 26.1, iPadOS 26.1, macOS Tahoe 26.1, tvOS 26.1, watchOS 26.1, and visionOS 26.1 updates for testing purposes. The RCs betas come a week after Apple released the fourth betas.
The new betas can be downloaded from the Settings app on a compatible device by going to General > Software...
Apple launched the Apple TV HD, the Siri Remote, tvOS, and their accompanying App Store a decade ago today, marking a major overhaul of the device.
The new vision for the Apple TV was unveiled on September 9, 2015 during Apple's "Hey Siri" event in San Francisco, where CEO Tim Cook introduced the device with the statement, "The future of TV is apps." The announcement represented a major...
The S9 is a complete flop ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/04/17/iphone-x-35-percent-q4-2017-smartphone-profits/').
When Samsun's own Display division reported lackluster OLED sales for top-tier phones, analysts jumped to the conclusion that that phone was the iPhone X. Now we know it wasn't the case.
Well, Apple just told us the iPhone X is the best selling phone in Apple's lineup since release the best selling phone in China. Apple also has the top 3 best selling phones in Asia.
It's official, Apple is dominating and iPhone X was a HUGE "Superbowl" success. ;) [doublepost=1525273618][/doublepost]
I bought an S9. My fifth Android and first that feels as responsive (snappy) as an iPhone.
6 months after it released, the iPhone X is no longer in production smh.
False, fake news. It's the best selling iPhone every week since release. PRETTY sure they need to make it until the new phones drop. They don't have enough channel inventory until September to meet demand, lol.
iPhone X being out of the lineup in September will have nothing to do with poor sales and everything to do with product positioning.
There will be FaceID phones OVER $999, so it's not because the X was starting at $999. [doublepost=1525275213][/doublepost]
Xiaomi is actually the most interesting part about this chart. They will soon be number 3.
Edit: why did MR cut off the year over year change from the chart? it was there a few minutes ago..
Edit2: and now they added it back, lol
It is interesting, but only as it relates to other budget Android. The "Others" y/y change are clearly the ones being hit by Xiaomi. They don't impact Apple, as predicted.
Remember folks, it's about the software/hardware integration. People that buy Apple phones want iOS so a cheap Android with similar hardware isn't going to compare.
The S9 is a complete flop ('https://www.macrumors.com/2018/04/17/iphone-x-35-percent-q4-2017-smartphone-profits/').
When Samsun's own Display division reported lackluster OLED sales for top-tier phones, analysts jumped to the conclusion that that phone was the iPhone X. Now we know it wasn't the case.
If it is a flop that’s a shame. It’s a pleasure to use and has definite advantages over the X I had. I get much better call quality and the cameras on the S9+ are amazing. It records gorgeous videos in beautiful immersive stereo audio. The display is great and doesn’t give me eye strain due to flicker the way the one on the X did. It retains the headphone jack. It has fantastic water resistance. It comes in gorgeous colors.
It is possible it might start to lag in a few months. But my iPhone 7 Plus did after updates, too. So far it’s going strong for both me and my husband.
It really doesn’t deserve to flop. I was pretty salty on Samsung but the S9+ has reeled me back in again.
I don’t think the X deserved to flop, either. It wasn’t the right choice for me, but for a first generation of a new form factor that is debuting new technology, it seemed pretty polished. If it’s doing well, that’s very encouraging. I hope Apple refines and fixes a few issues it has and does well.
