Mobile App Franchise | Smartphone Sales: What Are The Top Sellers For 2017?

After a brief dip in 2016, which saw smartphone sales fall, more than half of consumers in a survey by Accenture have said they plan to buy a smartphone in 2017. But with so many different options on the market, which will be the go-to options? Which smartphones and operating systems will come out on top? Let’s take a look at what consumers are buying, and how that will inform mobile marketing in the months to come.

Apple iPhone

Predicting exactly which iPhone model will be the most popular in 2017 is tough. Last year, despite the launch of the iPhone 7, it was the iPhone 6s which came out on top, selling more than 60m units. The iPhone 7, which was launched in September, managed to sell 50m units by the end of the year, and the iPhone 6s Plus racked up sales of 25m units. Whichever way you look at it, iPhones are still dominant in the market.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the ground-breaking iPhone, and experts are predicting a new launch in September, as is tradition with Apple products. Last year’s biggest-selling model, the iPhone 6s, featured a 4.7-inch diagonal screen, but if rumours are to be believed, the next generation of Apple iPhones will be colossal, with one model said to be as big as 5.8 inches diagonally. Will this dramatically increased screen size change the way marketers approach the design of landing pages or content for mobiles?

The iOS operating system will also be a mainstay – something for app developers to bear in mind. Of the 432m smartphones sold in the last quarter of 2016, 77m of them ran iOS.

Samsung Galaxy

Samsung are classed as Apple’s main rival in the smartphone market, and their Galaxy S7 Edge came in fifth in the overall bestselling lists for last year, with 25m units shipped. The Galaxy S7 came in ninth, selling 24m units. This year’s upgraded versions, the S8 and S8 Plus, have been selling like hotcakes in the first half of 2017, with more than 5m units of the S8 sold in its first 25 days of being on the market.

The Samsung Galaxy family of smartphones run on the Android operating system, which accounted for 81.7% of all smartphone sales in the last year. Drink that in for a second – more than three-quarters of new phones sold in 2016 were running on Android. That undoubtedly makes it the primary choice for any businesses looking to develop a new app for one platform. It will certainly have developers thinking hard about their development priorities.

The up-and-comers

Google’s Pixel phone has been making waves this year, and with it comes a new operating system: Chrome OS – something totally new for app developers to get their heads around. The Nokia Lumia 520 remains a popular choice for those who prefer the Windows Phone OS, and the Nokia Lumia 950 XL could knock it off its perch – but with Windows Phones falling below 1% market share this year, developers would do well to steer clear of designing solely for the Windows OS.

Summary

The reality is that up and coming operating system based devices have a serious uphill struggle to displace the huge existing market share enjoyed by Android and iOS respectively. While Android has a greater market share overall and a huge portion of all new smartphone sales can be attributed to this OS, business owners and brands should keep in mind that iPhone and therefore iOS users typically download and spend more time using apps as well as having a higher tendency for online spending.

At this point in time the best advice would be to ensure any app and development projects for mobile cater for both of these dominant systems.

Are you interested in a mobile app franchise ? At Eazi-Apps, we respect the years of skills and experience that you possess. Our aim is to build on what you can already do to ensure you the best possible chance at success.

To find out more about how Eazi-Apps can help you offer solutions to small businesses, contact us today.