The Winner of the 2017 Smartphone Race is This Report states that of the 22 top-shipping models so far this year, eight are Chinese that shipped more than 6 million units in H1 2017

2017 has seen brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Lenovo and Gionee dominating the global smartphone market that almost every month is bombarded with new models — each with its unique set of features and designs.

Established brands like Samsung, Apple and Google have captured the major share in the smartphone industry. However, even then it's difficult to select a smartphone as one is spoilt for choices.

A recently released report by IHS Markit (Nasdaq: INFO), a world leader in critical information, reveals that Apple iPhone 7 outsold all other smartphone models globally in the first six months of 2017, followed by the iPhone 7 Plus. The iPhone models continue to remain the most popular smartphones, maintaining their bestseller positions since launching.

Entrepreneur India takes a look at other key highlights of the report:

• The Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime Plus held the number three spot, followed by iPhone 6s and Galaxy S8 in the fourth and fifth positions, respectively. Galaxy S8 Plus was the 6th bestseller, with slightly less volume than the Galaxy S8.
• The report highlighted that the flagship models from Apple and Samsung had sluggish sales in the first half of 2017. Although the latest iPhone models secured top positions, shipment volume declined compared to their respective predecessor models, the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, during the same period in 2016.
• The smaller-screen, 4.7inch display of iPhone models ranked in the top positions in the first half of three consecutive years beginning in 2015. However, their market share continues to fall, dropping from 10 per cent in 2015 to 7 per cent in 2016, and 5 per cent in 2017.
• Meanwhile, the Samsung Galaxy S8 flagship series recorded a smaller shipment volume this year. "This is likely because Samsung began selling the Galaxy S8 and S8+ models in April, a month later than last year's launch of the S7 series," said Jusy Hong, associate director, mobile devices for IHS Markit. "The shipment ranking of the Galaxy S8 Plus fell to number six, compared to the fourth-place Galaxy S7 Edge in 2016."
• The list of top 10 most-shipped smartphones in the first half of 2017 included five Samsung models, four Apple models, and one Oppo model. The number of smartphone models with more than a million shipments per month increased in the first half of this year to 22 from 17 in 2016. "This is a direct result of smartphone OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) efforts to select and concentrate in order to improve product portfolios and increase profitability," Hong said. "In addition, more Chinese OEMs are selling their smartphone models outside of China, which intensifies competition and generates more globally popular models."
• The report points out that among the 22 top-shipping models so far this year, eight Chinese models that shipped more than 6 million units in H1 2017: five from Oppo, two from Xiaomi and one from Huawei. Samsung had 10 models that shipped more than one million units per month respectively, while Apple had four.