Analysis: in 2022, Apple had eight of the top 10 best-selling smartphones, led by the iPhone 13 and 13 Pro Max; Samsung's Galaxy A13 was 4th and A03 came 10th
- Apple captured eight spots in the list of top 10 best-selling smartphones for 2022. — The remaining two spots were taken by Samsung's Galaxy A13 and A03 models.
Context & Ripple Effects
Apple’s eight-model showing in 2022 established a sharply concentrated flagship-sales leaderboard: Samsung’s presence came solely from the Galaxy A13 and A03. The pattern strengthened in the following year, when Apple held the top seven global positions and Samsung the next three in the 2023 global bestseller rankings.
The composition also matters for Apple’s product mix. By Q1 2024, Pro models accounted for half of Apple sales, up from 24% in 2020, while the iPhone 15 Pro Max led the quarterly rankings in a later shift toward Pro demand.
First-order effects
- Apple’s iPhone 13 and 13 Pro Max lead a top-10 list dominated by its own lineup, giving Apple broad representation across the year’s bestselling models.
- Samsung’s two ranked handsets, the Galaxy A13 and A03, make it the only other vendor represented, but place its visible volume in the A-series rather than ahead of Apple’s leaders.
Second-order effects
- Samsung’s subsequent top-10 positions are measured against Apple’s model-level concentration, increasing the importance of its A-series entries as the company’s counterweight in global bestseller lists.
- Apple’s early placement of both standard and Pro iPhones foreshadows a ranking mix in which premium Pro models become a larger share of its sales, as reported in the Q1 2024 sales mix data.
Third-order effects
- The successive rankings point to a two-company global bestseller structure: Apple repeatedly concentrates the leading positions, while Samsung remains the other recurring top-10 vendor across premium and A-series models.
- If that pattern persists, model rankings will increasingly reflect Apple’s ability to extend iPhone demand across multiple tiers alongside Samsung’s ability to retain mass-market A-series volume, rather than a broad field of handset makers.
The trend: Global smartphone bestseller lists are consolidating around Apple’s multi-tier iPhone lineup and Samsung’s A-series-led counterpresence.