 Counterpoint ranks the iPhone 6 as the number one seller for April, followed by the 6 Plus, with Samsung’s newly released Galaxy S6 and S6 edge occupying third and fourth positions, respectively.
It should be noted that the S6 models were on sale for only part of the month, having launched on April 10. Counterpoint additionally notes that only 20 countries were included in the initial rollout of the S6, compared to the 125 countries in which the Galaxy S5 launched last year. Despite this, comparatively the S6 managed to exceed sales of last year’s flagship S5 in the same period in 2014. Counterpoint’s channel survey shows a total of six million units were sold by the end of April. While the standard S6 sold slightly more than the S6 edge, Counterpoint noted the S6 edge showed much higher initial interest. The S6 series made up 21 per cent of Samsung’s total smartphone sales during April, with the S5 in the same time last year making up only 16 per cent of Samsung’s smartphone sales. “We believe the Galaxy S6 edge could have sold more if there weren’t supply issues, but it is on track to become more popular than the standard version as Samsung’s marketing engine kicks in at full speed,” Neil Shah, Counterpoint research director, commented. Shah noted that the curved glass “is certainly going to be a challenge for production”, with it being the first of its kind, stating “managing the supply with shifts in demand between the two models will be the key to maintaining momentum”.Peter Richardson, Counterpoint research director, added that the S6 series “has a chance to become the top selling smartphone, overtaking Apple’s iPhone 6 series, if production issues are solved”. “However the window of opportunity to do so is short as consumers don’t have much patience in a market with many alternatives,” Richardson noted. “Nevertheless, we still believe Galaxy S6 is on its way to achieve 50 million unit sales by the end of this year.” The S6 series has mostly eaten into the market share of other Android smartphones, including Samsung’s other flagship models, Counterpoint found, with S5 sales dropping sharply compared to March, with the Galaxy Note 4 and Galaxy A series also affected, as sales dropped between 30 and 40 per cent. |
