Samsung smartphones outsell Apple, but majority of iPhones are flagship models

After doing some studies on Apple Music and Apple News, CIRP is out with a new report on smartphone sales in the US. For the last year, the study found that Samsung moved more smartphones than Apple, but the latter sold a much higher percentage of high-end devices.

CIRP’s report looked at US smartphone sales from April 2023 through March 2024. While it’s not a surprise that Samsung took the largest share of smartphone sales when considering both Android and iOS devices, Apple was close behind.

According to CIRP’s data, Samsung’s smartphones had a 38% market share with Apple 5% behind at 33% market share.

Motorola came in third with 13%, “other” manufacturers had a combined share of 10% and Google came in last with 6%.

But looking a little deeper, CIRP reveals how Apple generates more revenue even though it sells fewer smartphone units than Samsung in the US.

image via CIRP

A majority of iPhone sales – 64% – are what CIRP considers “flagship models” That’s significantly higher than Samsung’s share of flagship models at 42%.

CIRP defines “flagship” as the “current model family” of smartphones – so in this case any of the iPhone 15 devices for Apple and for Samsung any of the Galaxy S23, S24, the Flip, or Fold smartphones.

The report highlights that the iPhone SE and older models make up about 1/3 of Apple’s US smartphone sales. And the reverse is true for Samsung with its more affordable and older models making up almost 60% of its US sales.

With that in mind, Apple sells more premium smartphones in the US than Samsung.

image via CIRP