According to a report from The NPD Group, Apple's iPhone 5 was the top selling phone during the final quarter of 2012, comprising 43 percent of all iPhone sales and accounting for nearly two thirds of all post-paid smartphone sales above $199.

npdgroupsmartphonesales
Samsung's Galaxy S III was the second most popular smartphone in Q4 2012, while Apple's iPhone 4S and iPhone 4 also sold well, taking the third and fourth spots on NPD's list of top-selling mobile phones in the U.S. The SIII's predecessor, the SII, was the fifth best selling phone during the holiday quarter.

A report earlier today from Strategy Analytics ranked Apple as the largest mobile phone vendor in the U.S. during Q4 2012, which is in accordance with NPD's data, which places Apple with 39 percent of overall smartphone sales, compared to Samsung's 30 percent.

npdsmartphonemarketshare
Combined, Apple and Samsung accounted for almost 70 percent of smartphone sales, with Motorola, HTC, and LG lagging behind.

Top Rated Comments

anzio Avatar
156 months ago
But... nobody wants to buy an iPhone, right? :rolleyes:
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Ventilatedbrain Avatar
156 months ago
BTW. After hearing all the rave about android .. I went out today and bought me a nexus 4 .. So far .. Yes the customisation is great and the UI is pure android with no lard .. But so far I'm really not digging the phone .. The touch response is choppy .. The battery life is as bad as my 4s and scrolling
Is no way as responsive as my beloved iOS .. Been an iPhone user since the 3G and has upgraded to 3GS and then to a 4s .. I know for
People who have been using its for a long time the interface may seem
Boring and repetitive .. But I can say this for sure .. I'm
So glad i didn't sell my 4s yet .. The nexus can't even handle PDFs which I
Use for work well .. I might have a different opinion in a few days .. But so far .. LONG LIVE IPHONE is all I can say :)
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
applesith Avatar
156 months ago
Analysts won't care.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rman726 Avatar
156 months ago
I find it funny how 3, 4, and 5 aren't other top phones from other companies, but instead old products by Apple and Samsung. Sucks to be the other OEMs.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
OriginalMacRat Avatar
156 months ago
The thing I am (for whatever reason) most shocked about is the 57% of people buying a iPhone 4 or 4S still.

Still?

Apple was still selling the iPhone 3GS the day that the iPhone 5 was announced. After the announcement, it was taken off the online store, but was still on display and being sold in the retail stores until inventory ran out.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
M-O Avatar
156 months ago
Apple is DOOMED!

----------

But you have to remember they are also free with a 2 year contract for many carriers. Not everyone is willing/able to buy the most recent iteration. And if you're getting a free phone anyway--it might as well be an iPhone.
If you can afford $100/month for the two year contract, you should be able to afford a $200 iPhone 5.

total cost over two years-
iPhone 5: $2,600
iPhone 4s: $2,500
iPhone 4: $2,400

you essentially get a 8% discount for buying a 2 1/2 year old phone.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 18

Apple Expected to Release iOS 18.3 Next Week With These New Features

Thursday January 23, 2025 6:41 am PST by
iOS 18.3 should be released to the public next week, following beta testing since mid-December. While the software update is a relatively minor one, it still includes a handful of new features, changes, and bug fixes for iPhones. Below, we recap everything new in iOS 18.3. Notification Summary Changes Examples of inaccurate Apple Intelligence notification summaries Apple Intelligence...
Apple Pay Walmart Feature

Walmart Stands Firm on Why It Doesn't Accept Apple Pay in the U.S.

Thursday January 23, 2025 7:32 am PST by
Walmart still does not accept Apple Pay or other NFC payments at its more than 4,600 stores across the U.S., and it stood firm on its reasoning for that today. A spokesperson for Walmart today informed MacRumors that its position on contactless payments has not changed since we last reached out about the matter in 2022. The big-box retailer said it remains focused on its own convenient...
apple tv 4k new orange

New Apple TV Launching This Year With These New Features

Wednesday January 22, 2025 6:01 pm PST by
A new Apple TV is expected to be released later this year. In this article, we recap rumored features and changes for the device. The next Apple TV will be equipped with Apple's own combined Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. He said the chip supports Wi-Fi 6E, which would be an upgrade over the current Apple TV's standard Wi-Fi 6 support. Wi-Fi 6E extends the...
iOS 18

5 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.3

Friday January 24, 2025 1:55 am PST by
Apple is set to release iOS 18.3 next week, bringing further refinements to Apple Intelligence features, a couple of neat new capabilities to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 devices, and bug fixes. While not quite as packed with new features as Apple's preceding iOS 18 point releases, iOS 18.3 still introduces capabilities that aim to make your iPhone smarter and more intuitive. Below, we've...
iOS 18

Here Are Apple's Full Release Notes for iOS 18.3

Tuesday January 21, 2025 4:31 pm PST by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate version of iOS 18.3 today, and with it comes release notes confirming what's new. While we knew about several of the features that are in the update, there are some lesser known tweaks and bug fixes. The update adds new Visual Intelligence features for iPhone 16 models, it tweaks Notification summaries on all...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.4 Beta Coming Soon With These New Features for Your iPhone

Friday January 24, 2025 8:16 am PST by
iOS 18.3 is expected to be widely released next week, and that means the first iOS 18.4 beta for iPhones should be just around the corner. Apple has previously implied that iOS 18.4 will be released in April, as that is when it promised to make Apple Intelligence available in even more languages. Below, we outline what to expect from iOS 18.4 so far. Apple Intelligence for Siri Siri ...
truecaller

Truecaller iOS Update Rolls Out Real-Time Caller ID Support

Wednesday January 22, 2025 2:07 am PST by
Popular caller ID app Truecaller is rolling out an update that brings real-time caller ID support to its iOS subscribers. Apple introduced Live Caller ID Lookup in iOS 18, allowing third-party caller ID apps to securely retrieve information about a caller from their servers, hence today's Truecaller update. iPhone users can enable the Live Caller ID Lookup feature by going to Settings ➝ ...
iPhone SE 4 Single Camera Thumb 3

iOS 18.3 Leak Provides Clue About iPhone SE 4, iPad 11, and iPad Air 7 Launch Timing

Wednesday January 22, 2025 9:39 am PST by
New information has surfaced that indicates the rumored iPhone SE 4, iPad 11, and new iPad Air models are nearing launch. A private account on social media platform X today revealed that iOS 18.3 or iPadOS 18.3 will be preinstalled on all of those upcoming devices when they are released. It is still unclear exactly when the devices will launch, but this information suggests that Apple will...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock Light

iOS 19 Leak Reveals All-New Design

Friday January 17, 2025 2:42 pm PST by
iOS 19 is still around six months away from being announced, but a new leak has allegedly revealed a completely redesigned Camera app. Based on footage it obtained, YouTube channel Front Page Tech shared a video showing what the new Camera app will apparently look like, with the key change being translucent menus for camera controls. Overall, the design of these menus looks similar to...