Samsung Beats iPhone Sales With Over 50 Million Galaxy A12 Units Sold

A budget smartphone from Samsung has emerged as the most popular smartphone of 2021, beating the latest iPhones by Apple. Over the last few years, Apple has been pushing its sales and marketing drive to sell more iPhones, and the strategy has proven successful. Thanks to the competitive price offered by retailers, and trade-in credits offered by Apple, iPhones are more popular than ever.

However, the budget smartphone segment is equally competitive, with companies like Samsung and Redmi tending to dominate. While Xiaomi keeps refreshing its Redmi Note lineup every year, Samsung’s Galaxy A and Galaxy M series offer decent specifications at an affordable price. Last year, Samsung released the Galaxy A13 5G, which is the most affordable 5G smartphone offered by the company.

According to the market research firm Omdia, the most shipped smartphone of 2021 was the entry-level Galaxy A12 from Samsung. Launched in 2020, the smartphone is currently available on Samsung’s website for $179.99. Although there is nothing particularly special about its features or specs, the report states that Samsung sold over 50 million units of the Galaxy A12, securing first position on the list. The second and third places were secured by Apple’s iPhone 12 and iPhone 13, respectively.

A Popular Entry-Level Smartphone

When compared to the iPhone 13, or even the iPhone 12, the budget smartphone from Samsung doesn’t stand a chance. The Galaxy A12 ships with a 6.5-inch IPS panel (270 ppi), a MediaTek Helio P35 chip, and 32GB of storage. It has a quad-camera setup and a fingerprint scanner on the side. In contrast, the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 come with Apple’s A14 and A15 Bionic chipsets which makes them significantly more powerful smartphones. Not to mention, they are equipped with Super Retina OLED panels, and have one of the best camera systems around. While there is no comparison between these smartphones, the Galaxy A12’s low price is highly likely the reason why it proved to be the most popular smartphone of last year.

As per a Counterpoint report, Apple held about 22-percent of the world’s smartphone market share in Q4 2021, and Samsung followed with 19-percent. In spite of this, an entry-level smartphone from Samsung has emerged as the most popular device overall. This shows just how strong the demand for budget smartphones continues to be. For those who are looking to upgrade from an older smartphone, but not looking to pay the higher prices associated with other phones, Samsung’s Galaxy A12 might be worth considering.

Source: Omdia, Samsung, Counterpoint