iPhone Retakes US Top-Spot As Samsung Squeezed Out

Apple's iPhone 5s has clinched the top spot across all four major US carriers, new market research suggests, while despite criticism the plastic-bodied iPhone 5c is also deemed a success for its target audience. The flagship iOS handset was "by far the top selling" handset, Canaccord Genuity analyst T. Michael Walkley wrote in a note to investors, AllThingsD reports, and in fact "at most channels" globally where Apple released it.

As for the iPhone 5c, sales of the mid-tier smartphone were described as "steady" by the analyst, citing the range of color options and the $99-on-agreement price as the reason. Far from being the failure that some had accused it of being, the iPhone 5c was in fact a hit "with its intended audience" Walkley argued.

Apple's intentions with the iPhone 5c had been mis-predicted ahead of the smartphone's launch. Many expected the phone to replace the entry-level, free-on-contract iPhone on the cheapest rung of Apple's smartphone ladder, but instead it effectively rebodied the iPhone 5 and left the iPhone 4S as the cheapest option.

The league table shuffling is particularly interesting, because Android had made noticeable inroads into the best-seller charts across the US carriers. While the iPhone 5 had maintained its pole position at AT&T, on the remaining three top networks it had slipped into second place.

Instead, Samsung's Galaxy S 4 – the target of an expensive promotional campaign by Samsung for the past few quarters – had taken number one position.

Canaccord's numbers aren't the only ones indicating the iPhone 5s marked a smartphone resurgence for Apple. Earlier this week, Counterpoint Research figures suggested that the iPhone 5s and iPhone 5 held the top two smartphone spots worldwide in October 2013, respectively, with Samsung's Galaxy S 4 in third place.