Apple's iPhone 14 Pro Max, the priciest handset it sells, was the most-shipped phone in...

[midian182]

In brief: In a time when many people are tightening their purse strings and avoiding unnecessary big purchases, which smartphone do you think was the most-shipped device in the first half of 2023? Somewhat surprisingly, it was the iPhone 14 Pro Max, which starts at $1,099, making it the most expensive handset Apple sells.

According to British analytics firm Omdia's Smartphone Model Market Tracker, Apple was the dominant name on the list of ten most-shipped smartphones during the first half of the year.

Leading the pack was the iPhone 14 Pro Max with 26.5 million units shipped. It was followed by three more Cupertino handsets: the iPhone 14 Pro (21 million), iPhone 14 (16.5 million), and iPhone 13 (15.5 million). Samsung's highest entry, the Galaxy A14, is fifth with 12.4 million shipments. The Korean giant and Apple have the same number of entries, five each.

Looking at last year's figures suggests consumers are favoring more high-end models. The handset that saw the most shipments in the first half of 2022 was the iPhone 13 with 33.7 million, seven million more than what the iPhone 14 Pro Max managed in 1H 2023.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max was second on last year's list with 23 million units, 3.5 million fewer than what its successor shipped in 1H 2023.

Omdia notes that the global smartphone market is recording negative growth right now as the mid- to low-end segments shrink due to economic recession and the expansion of the used smartphone market. However, the premium smartphone market segment is increasing as demand for Apple's flagship models remains solid.

The iPhone 15 launch is only a few weeks away, but it sounds as if Apple is prepared for disappointment in the US following its recent admission that "the smartphone market has been in a decline for the last couple of quarters in the United States." Apple said that American shoppers are not spending as much on iDevices as they used to and the whole smartphone industry is experiencing a slowdown.

Apple's global outlook isn't quite as gloomy, though, especially in China, which CEO Tim Cook said was a highlight during the last quarter. Demand for Pro and Pro Max models is expected to increase, but overall shipments for iPhones are expected to be flat or slightly lower compared to 2022. Omdia predicts that worldwide smartphone shipments will decline 6% year on year to 1.15 billion devices, the lowest in a decade.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/99939-apple-priciest-handset-most-shipped-smartphone-first-half.html

 

[yRaz]

If I'm going to use something then I'm willing to pay extra for it. I've had my S21+ for over 2 years now and considering how much us I get out of it on a daily basis and good many of its' features are, I absolutely have gotten my moneys worth out of it. Per hour of usage is probably in the pennies range.

While I'm not an Apple fan I absolutely understand the mindset of spending money on a quality phone because in today's society WE ARE going to use it. So if someone is in a position where they can splurge on a highend phone I recommend them buying one. I've had cheap phones in the past and they were nothing but a headache. They do make calls and stuff like that just fine, but some lowend phones have no right of even calling themselves a "smart phone"

 

[m4a4]

Eh, it's a bit disingenuous to imply those people who are sensible enough to buy low- to mid-range phones (or used phones) would buy a new phone yearly (like so many of the iPhone users do and are proud of).

And then there are the carrier incentives (at least in North America) to "buy" the most expensive phones and upgrade every year.

But I guess those particular consumers are more consumery

Anyways, looks like you didn't check dark theme for this picture. It's mostly alpha (making it black text on a dark background) lol

<p><a href="https://www.techspot.com/images2/news/bigimage/2023/08/2023-08-28-image.png"

 

[RudyBob]

The only reason I would consider such an expensive option would be for the camera. I use a $150 Motorola and the camera is good enough and decidedly better than the hundreds of 60's Instamatic photos I still look at and enjoy.

 

[Plutoisaplanet]

Anyways, looks like you didn't check dark theme for this picture. It's mostly alpha (making it black text on a dark background) lol

If they'd like to solve it blindly, they can throw in some css (only thing is it'll leave a white border for article/forum images):
picture, .bbWrapper img { filter: drop-shadow(-1px -1px 0px #fffa) drop-shadow(1px 1px 0px #fffa) drop-shadow(1px -1px 0px #fffa) drop-shadow(-1px 1px 0px #fffa); }

 

[m4a4]

If they'd like to solve it blindly, they can throw in some css (only thing is it'll leave a white border for article/forum images):
picture, .bbWrapper img { filter: drop-shadow(-1px -1px 0px #fffa) drop-shadow(1px 1px 0px #fffa) drop-shadow(1px -1px 0px #fffa) drop-shadow(-1px 1px 0px #fffa); }

Ha, looks a bit funny though. They might be better off removing the alpha channel (or setting the background white) in such a case.
At least clicking on it brings it up properly in a new tab...

 

[brucek]

This has to be more about status symbol and fashion effects than functional IT spending.

Apple tried for years to sell its expensive computers to a wider audience and found, just like other PC manufacturers, that the mainstream market had a limit for how much it wanted to spend and how often it wanted to refresh.

Yet move that functionality into a phone and suddenly people, including not-that-wealthy-people, are falling all over themselves to replace their only 1 or 2 year old phone with another expensive one that barely does anything different but might be a slightly different color.

The commodity features like making voice calls, sending SMS messages, etc hardly vary between models and years. The cameras get a little better but a mid-range camera from 5 years ago already took great family photos.

I'm impressed with Apple for its business success, and depressed with humans for their lack of sense.

 

[p51d007]

I ALWAYS expect iPhone to sell/ship more phones that anyone else.
You have 2 different OS's. iOS and Android.
With iOS, there is ONE brand.
With Android, there are 3,403,405 brands.
Lump all of the OS'S together & Android outsells Apple.
Just makes sense. If there were multiple iOS phones, then
Apple probably wouldn't be the "top" seller.