For several years now, Samsung has been the No.1 seller of smartphone units in the world. And while the Korean company had to recall the Note 7 in 2016, Samsung still made the top of the list. However, despite selling the most phones, Samsung did not make the most profit.

Numbers breakdown

According to Strategy Analytics, Samsung sold 308.5 million units last year, which is more than 100 million more than Apple. The Cupertino-based company came in second with 215.5 million sold iPhones. We have to note that Samsung has several different models, while Apple has just the iPhone. Samsung has mid-tier, and budget phones in addition to the flagship phone.

Looking at the profit, Apple made close to 80% of the worldwide profits from smartphones. Almost $45 billion, out of $53.7 billion ended up in Apple’s pockets. Samsung, on the other hand, brought just $8.3 billion or 14.6% of profits. Now, a lot of that has to do with the recall of the Note 7. But there is also this thing that Apple puts high price tags on their phones. According to stats, Apple makes $208 profit per phone. Experts believe one of the reasons is Apple uses out-of-date technology at a very low cost, while Samsung brings new technologies at a high cost. Therefore, Samsung is making only $27 profit per phone.
Chinese companies round up the top 5. Huawei is on No.3 with 72.2 million units sold, while Xiaomi sold 46.4 million units. Vivo sold 33.7 million of the X series, and 25.6 million of the Y series. Chinese companies target only the China market, where smartphone sells for between $200 and $500. That is a lot lower price than what Apple sells their iPhones for.

Can Samsung replicate the success?

If Samsung nails its flagship phones in 2017, there is no denying that the company will again be the top smartphone seller. Samsung will launch more than 12 million Galaxy S8 units initially. The company hopes to sell more than 60 million S8 devices by the end of the year. That is in line with what the company did with the S7. When the S7 was launched, Samsung sold more than 13 million units in the first two months. And unlike last year, this year, Samsung plans to make the Note 8 a success. Last year, profits and sales were largely impacted by the recall of the Note 7.

The Hype is real

The hype for Samsung is real. And the company will surely do great in 2017. Weeks after the release of the “this is a phone” ad, Samsung still has the one of the most viral ads. Last week, the video got more than 26 million impressions, which is astonishing.