Samsung sold more than 305 million smartphones in 2016.
Apple sold more than 216 million in 2016.
However, the majority of Android phones were sold by other makers, and not Samsung.
In the last year, Samsung sales have taken off again, after the Note 7 debacle in 2016.
I understand. I had an HTC for three years about 6 years ago. Everything apple now retuning to my roots from 1986 when i bought a MAC+ The HTC was good phone. I am not much of a gear head and I find the different Ohs to be easy to use and learn and the phones do way more than i ned them to do. i use about 6 apps most of the time.
But Samsung did not sell 305 million 'smartphones" in 2016. Samsung sells into the world market and although all of their phones are for the most part Android OS phones, not all are fully smartphones. Samsung did indeed sell 305 million PHONES in 2016, composed of a market mix of approximately 30% miniature computer smartphones, 40% limited feature phones which do not have the full functionality of a computerized smartphone with apps available only from the carriers, and then 30% basic candy bar and flip phones that are far more limited to basic phone functions plus a camera, basic email, and texting. That is per their own statistics. This also coincides with all other makers of Android phones, many of whom do not even compete in the "smartphone" market against the big 10 Android makers, concentrating mostly in the low-end feature phone and low end third world market with their white box no-name offerings that compose the largest segment of the Android phone market.
Ergo, only approximately 100 million of Samsung's phone production in 2016 were directly competitive smartphones to the iPhone smartphone. The numbers of the top end smartphone models that Samsung ships total to that number. . . and the reported sales seem to coincide.
On the other hand, the 216 million phones Apple sold in 2016 were 100% smartphones. There are no Apple feature phones or candy bar or flip phones to dilute those sales.
Apple iPhones get resold for continued use at high prices after their initial user upgrades. Not so much with Android smartphones. The resale value of Android smartphones is simply not there. Part of the reason for this is the iPhones can be and are continually upgraded to the latest iOS for at least five years, not generally so with Android. So the secondary and even tertiary market of Apple iPhones means that Apple iPhones will be useful far longer than their Android competition.
I had a Note 7. They had to practically pry my cold dead hands to get me to return it. Fantastic phone that unfortunately had a poorly designed battery (too much battery packed into too small space). Oh .. and I see that crApple is finally giving the plebes wireless charging. ((YAWN)) I’ve had it for over four years now.