The iPhone totally dominated North America

Apple has been the leading smartphone manufacturer in North America for years. But today’s list of devices shows just how popular the Cupertino giant has become in recent times as the market has further consolidated.The best-selling smartphone of 2019 in North America was the iPhone XR. It proved to be immensely popular among customers and accounted for an outstanding 12% of all smartphone purchases throughout the year.

It was followed by the newer (and cheaper) iPhone 11 which managed to obtain a market share of 6% in the region despite being on sale for less than four months. Counterpoint hasn’t made any predictions, but the iPhone 11 looks set to become the most popular device this year.

Third place in North America went to the $449 iPhone 8 with a market share of 5%. That’s certainly impressive considering the phone’s age – it launched in September 2017 – and can only be good news for the upgraded iPhone 9, which is expected to arrive next month for $399.

The iPhone XS Max and iPhone 11 Pro Max finished in fourth and fifth place respectively with market shares of 4% and 3%. These results prove there’s still a strong appetite for premium iPhone models with big screens.

Samsung and Apple led the European market

The European market was dominated by Apple and Samsung last year, according to Counterpoint Research. This can likely be attributed to the renewed business strategies from both brands and the declining presence of Huawei in the region.

Leading the way in terms of sales across Europe was Samsung’s Galaxy A50. It debuted in March and managed to account for 5% of all smartphone shipments in the region despite being on sale for only nine months of the year.

In second place was the best-selling smartphone globally – the iPhone XR – with a market share of 4%. It was followed closely by its successor, the iPhone 11, which accounted for 3% of all European shipments last year.

Samsung claimed fourth and fifth place with the budget Galaxy A10 and Galaxy A40, both of which reached decent market shares of 3% in 2019 despite strong competition in the segment.

Oppo, Vivo, and Huawei had the best-selling phones in China

China is a completely different story, rather unsurprisingly. Huawei is the most popular smartphone brand in the region by volume yet it only managed to send one smartphone into the top 5 – the Huawei P30 – with a market share of 2%, placing it in fifth place.

Ahead of this smartphone in fourth and third place respectively were the budget Vivo Y93 and Vivo Y93s with 2% market share each. Slightly in front of these was the pricier Oppo A9, which captured 3% of the market.

The most popular smartphone in China was the Oppo A5. It accounted for 4% of all smartphone shipments in the region and successfully pushed rival Xiaomi out of the top 5 completely after topping the list twelve months earlier.

Samsung took the crown in the rest of the world

The Middle East and Africa region was dominated by Samsung. It occupied every spot on the top 5 list with the Galaxy A10, Galaxy A2 Core, Galaxy A50, Galaxy A20, and Galaxy A10s in descending order.

Latin America, on the other hand, was a similar story although Lenovo-owned Motorola also managed to make an appearance in the top 5. The Galaxy A10 was once again the most popular model followed by the Galaxy J2 Core, Moto E5 Play, Galaxy A20, and Galaxy J4 Core.

The final global region is the Rest of Asia Pacific where the top 5 included a real mix of devices. The Oppo A5s topped the list with a market share of 3% and was followed by the Galaxy A50, iPhone XR, Galaxy A10, and Realme C2 with 2% of the market each.