When Samsung ($KRX:005930) launched the Galaxy S9, it was impossible to not compare it to the Apple ($AAPL) iPhone X. Both are high-end, high-price smartphones that feature the best the two world-leading phone makers have to offer. They not only share heavy price tags, but they also share features. Ultra-high-resolution screens, beautiful designs, 3D avatar software, water-resistance, fast processors, and high-end cameras are all standard on both phones.
Now that both phones have been on the market for a while - the iPhone X since November and the Galaxy S9 since January - we took a look at how the two phones are selling at Best Buy ($BBY), America's largest vendor that carries both phones.
Because both phones come in multiple iteratioins - color, memory capacity (for the iPhone), and carrier, we looked at which ones sold best in order to make a fair statistical comparison. First we looked at the top-10 iterations for each phone, sorted by Best Buy sales rank. To do that, we pulled all iPhone Xs and Galaxy S9s sold at Best Buy, sorted for sales rank, and then averaged that sales rank over time to determine which model consistently sold best for each manufacturer.
For the iPhone X, the AT&T Space Gray (AT&T edition) had the highest average Best Buy sales rank of 866.61 since it began selling.
|
Name |
Category Rank (Average) |
|---|---|
|
Apple - iPhone X 256GB - Space Gray (AT&T) |
866.61 |
|
Apple - iPhone X 256GB - Silver (AT&T) |
1092.47 |
|
Apple - iPhone X 64GB - Space Gray (AT&T) |
1466.45 |
|
Apple - iPhone X 256GB - Space Gray (Verizon) |
1488.96 |
|
Apple - iPhone X 64GB - Silver (AT&T) |
1671.53 |
|
Apple - iPhone X 64GB - Space Gray |
1780.17 |
|
Apple - iPhone X 64GB - Space Gray (Verizon) |
1781.61 |
|
Apple - iPhone X 256GB - Silver (Verizon) |
1867.18 |
|
Apple - iPhone X 64GB - Silver |
1911.83 |
|
Apple - iPhone X 256GB - Space Gray |
1956.33 |
For the Galaxy S9, the unlocked Midnight Black tracked best with an average Best Buy sales rank of 652.29 since it began selling.
|
Name |
Category Rank (Average) |
|---|---|
|
Samsung - Galaxy S9+ 64GB (Unlocked) - Midnight Black |
652.29 |
|
Samsung - Galaxy S9+ 64GB - Midnight Black (Verizon) |
914.13 |
|
Samsung - Galaxy S9 64GB (Unlocked) - Midnight Black |
1060.91 |
|
Samsung - Galaxy S9+ 64GB (Unlocked) - Coral Blue |
1287.76 |
|
Samsung - Galaxy S9+ 64GB - Coral Blue (Verizon) |
1366.87 |
|
Samsung - Galaxy S9+ 64GB (Unlocked) - Lilac Purple |
1522.07 |
|
Samsung - Galaxy S9+ 64GB - Midnight Black (AT&T) |
1665.13 |
|
Samsung - Galaxy S9+ 64GB - Lilac Purple (Verizon) |
1702.69 |
|
Samsung - Galaxy S9 64GB - Midnight Black (Verizon) |
1708.87 |
|
Samsung - Galaxy S9 64GB (Unlocked) - Lilac Purple |
2370.65 |
When comparing sales ranks of the two models since each began selling, we see a very similar initial peak when each product began selling, a minor dip, and then another rise to a steady rank.
Of course, in the case of the iPhone, we have about four months of sales data see how it tracked over time. Interestingly, in April 2018 - after the launch of the S9 - we see a sales resurgence for the iPhone X.
Given that, we compared the two models when they were both selling - and the results are even more interesting when plotted to the same graph:
What we see is a possible settling for the Galaxy S9 along with a concurrent surge in iPhone X sales. Could the two cross paths again in the next month? Will the S9 take off this summer?
Either scenario is possible, especially now that people who are in the market for a high-end smart phone have finally gotten their hands on the S9 and can finally make a decision one way or another.