Sales dropped worldwide for Samsung's flagship phone in August, but it still beat those of the iPhone 5, according to market researcher CounterPoint. October 16, 2013 7:21 AM PDT Samsung's Galaxy S4 is still king of the market. (Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET) Samsung's Galaxy S4 has seen better sales but it was still on top of the smartphone crop in August. Worldwide S4 sales fell to 5 million in August after reaching a peak of 7 million in June, CounterPoint Research said on Wednesday. Sales were lower than expected. But thanks to its entire Galaxy lineup, Samsung was the only mobile phone maker to show any monthly growth in August, traditionally a slow sales month. In second place among the ten best sellers was the 16GB iPhone 5, followed by its 32GB counterpart. Nokia's Asha 501 ranked third, according to CounterPoint. Samsung's Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3 Mini, Galaxy S3, and Galaxy S4 Mini took the next few spots. The Nokia Asha 205 and Nokia 105 capped off the top ten list. Sales of the Galaxy S4 could pick up based on special holiday pricing, CounterPoint said. But the research firm now expects Samsung to sell 80 percent more S4 units than S3 handsets from initial launch to end of year, down from its prior forecast of 100 percent or more. Smartphones priced at $400 wholesale or higher are showing signs of slower growth, the firm said, as most of the sales in that range are replacement devices for existing users. But the overall smartphone market is still rising at around 40 to 50 percent each year, buoyed by sales of phones below $200. CounterPoint's data is derived from its monthly Market Pulse report, which analyzes the smartphone and mobile device market.
Sales dropped worldwide for Samsung's flagship phone in August, but it still beat those of the iPhone 5, according to market researcher CounterPoint.
Samsung's Galaxy S4 is still king of the market.
(Credit: Sarah Tew/CNET)
Samsung's Galaxy S4 has seen better sales but it was still on top of the smartphone crop in August.
Worldwide S4 sales fell to 5 million in August after reaching a peak of 7 million in June, CounterPoint Research said on Wednesday. Sales were lower than expected. But thanks to its entire Galaxy lineup, Samsung was the only mobile phone maker to show any monthly growth in August, traditionally a slow sales month.
In second place among the ten best sellers was the 16GB iPhone 5, followed by its 32GB counterpart. Nokia's Asha 501 ranked third, according to CounterPoint. Samsung's Galaxy Note 2, Galaxy S3 Mini, Galaxy S3, and Galaxy S4 Mini took the next few spots. The Nokia Asha 205 and Nokia 105 capped off the top ten list.
Sales of the Galaxy S4 could pick up based on special holiday pricing, CounterPoint said. But the research firm now expects Samsung to sell 80 percent more S4 units than S3 handsets from initial launch to end of year, down from its prior forecast of 100 percent or more.
Smartphones priced at $400 wholesale or higher are showing signs of slower growth, the firm said, as most of the sales in that range are replacement devices for existing users. But the overall smartphone market is still rising at around 40 to 50 percent each year, buoyed by sales of phones below $200.
CounterPoint's data is derived from its monthly Market Pulse report, which analyzes the smartphone and mobile device market.
