NPD’s Three Top-Selling Smartphones Are iPhones

Matt Drance:

What interests me much more is the by-model breakdown of sales according to NPD. There are currently three iPhone models available — iPhone 4S ($199), iPhone 4 ($99), and iPhone 3GS (free) — and they occupy the top three slots in that order. This may not be an entirely new phenomenon, particularly not for Apple products, but I still find it remarkable. It contradicts what most people keep insisting is conventional wisdom: that cheap and/or free models will always steal volume from premium models.

Looking at the other phones on the top 10 list from NPD, this might be true of the phone industry overall. It looks like NPD’s list is dominated by new high-end models. Spots four and five go to the Samsung Galaxy S 4G and Galaxy S II, for example.

And it shows that despite what many Apple observers like to say, Apple does in fact care about market share — at least for now.

It’s not that they don’t care about market share, it’s just that market share is not Apple’s top priority.

★ Friday, 13 January 2012