Apple iPhone 5S Beats Samsung Galaxy S4 as Top Selling Smartphone of Q1 2014

Based on data gathered by ABI Research - a technology market intelligence company with a 24 year proven track record, Apple iPhone 5S 16 GB was the leading smartphone globally from January to March 2014 in terms of number of units sold, followed by the Exynos-powered Samsung Galaxy S4 GT-i9500.

Apple iPhone 5S Beats Samsung Galaxy S4

"Samsung’s dominance is driven by its market leading 27% market share and despite Apple’s lower market share its small, clearly tiered portfolio creates significant volume for just a few SKUs," shared Mr. Nick Spencer, Senior Practice Director of ABI Research. In layman's terms, that means that Apple didn't need to release too many handset models to make a considerable number of sales.

Source: ABI Research

Interestingly, the Korean Giant's 2012 flagship smartphone and its best-selling release thus far - Samsung Galaxy S3 i9300 16 GB - continues to sell well, landing at the third spot. But perhaps more amazingly, the most affordable variant of the Cupertino company's 2011 handset, Apple iPhone 4S 8 GB, remains to be a monster best-seller after all these years and was the 5th highest-selling smartphone in Q3 2014.

"The presence of the Samsung Galaxy S3 i9300 16GB and iPhone 4s 8GB in the top five is testament to the enduring appeal of these models and the vendors strong brand, enabling a long and profitable lifecycle, that other vendors can only dream of," Mr. Spencer said.

Smartphone releases by Sony, LG, and Xiaomi make up the rest of the top 20. According to Mr. Spencer, "The much talked about Chinese vendor Xiaomi’s top device by shipment volume is the Redmi, which is now available outside of China, at a very affordable $130."