The best-selling phone from Apple is not the iPhone X, Galaxy S9 blurs

Apple might want to reconsider their series of next-phase iPhones if the rumors are true. The word was that Apple will release three devices, all with displays similar to the iPhone X. In the weeks and months that followed the release of the iPhone X, this first phone dominated shipments in the world, according to Strategy Analytics in the first quarter of 2018. Now it looks like the wind is turning, a bit for sales.

According to Counterpoint Research, the month of May saw Apple's iPhone X beat the end users of two devices. One was Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus, the other was the iPhone 8. Now, to be fair, the percentage figures in this study are right on top of each other, and several are in a margin of error – take a look:

If we take a look at the sales chart of this same research firm for the month of April, we see the Samsung Galaxy S9 in a slightly firmer lead. The Galaxy S9 and S9 Plus were launched for the first time in mid-March. The major sales of the S9 and S9 Plus therefore make a lot of sense in April.

Then you'll see March, a month when Apple's iPhone X was by far the most popular smartphone. This smartphone was released in November 2017 – several months before this card was registered. This kind of market dominance is not normal. Note here the amount of space between the iPhone X and the iPhone 8, too.

Further in time, we see the iPhone X keep an even greater lead – which means moreover several things. Samsung Galaxy S9 helps the iPhone (in general) to take a more balanced position in the market. The hype of the iPhone X has cooled in recent months. Counterpoint shows us that even when a challenger seems to come calling (see Xiaomi Redmi 5A), they seem to fall back in a few weeks.

What is the problem here?

In recent months, it seems that the original hype around the iPhone X is a little quieted. iPhone hype remains at least as high as that of any other iPhone, but here we see the slightly more traditional Apple handset in popularity with its more radical brother.

Apple is probably too far in the production process to change their plans now. It's not that they might come back in time with models for iPhone at this point in history anyway – but still. When the hype does not hold up, Apple smartphone shoppers opt for the device with which they feel most familiar – or at least that may seem so!