Smartphone Galaxy S7 edge from Samsung was named as the top selling Android model universally, in the first half this year, as per latest reports from Strategy Analytics.

All three top-selling Android smartphone models shipped worldwide, are from Samsung, adds the research.

Also net Android smartphone shipments went up by 5 percent annually from 552.2 million units in H1 2015 to 577.3 million in H1 2016. Android models are steadily outpacing the Apple iOS, with the latter going down by 16 percent annually from 108.7 million in H1 2015 to 91.6 million in H1 2016.

The research estimates that 13.3 million units of Samsung Galaxy S7 edge were sold in the first half amounting to 2 percent of all Android smartphones shipped worldwide in H1 2016, making it the most popular Android smartphone, this year.

Samsung introduced flagship Edge smartphone series, featuring curved displays which at first failed to meet demand due to delay in production. But the latter model, S7 Edge sporting similar design witnessed huge demand from consumers which was met by the smartphone maker.

The strength of the Galaxy S7 has boosted Samsung’s own component businesses further.

The USP of the phone is attributed to its attractive curved hardware design blended with a sidebar of apps, simplifying usage.

At the second position is Samsung Galaxy J2 having sold 13.0 million units worldwide trailed by Samsung Galaxy S7 with 11.8 million units shipped.

Samsung models, though maintaining the top position, are continually facing stiff competition from rival models Huawei P9, OPPO R9 and Vivo X7 devices, added the research.

The smartphone giant plans to invest in mobile marketing for the upcoming large-screen smartphone range, to be announced next week, to match competition from similar new iPhone launches by Apple.

Timely launches aided strong sales during the first half of this year, with the company cutting down prices on its mid- and low-end Galaxy models. The company also plans to launch the Galaxy C series exclusively for Chinese consumers.

Vina Krishnan
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