Samsung Galaxy S4 Outsells Apple iPhone 5 At Verizon, Sprint And T-Mobile Stores In May

Samsung’s latest Galaxy S4 outsold Apple’s iPhone 5 at three of the four major U.S. carriers in May, claims a new report, saying the eight-month-old Apple smartphone could grab the top spot only at AT&T.

The Samsung Galaxy S4 was the top-selling smartphone at Verizon, Sprint and T-Mobile stores last month, while the Apple iPhone 5 came in second at all three carriers, according to the latest carrier retail sales data collected from store surveys by Canaccord Genuity.

The iPhone 5 was on the top at all four major U.S. carriers in April when the Galaxy S4 suffered limited availability. But once the Galaxy S4 shipments started to increase, it helped Samsung claim the No. 1 spot from Apple in May. However, the iPhone 5 remained the best-selling smartphone at AT&T, where the Galaxy S4 trailed.

The Galaxy S4, combined with strong sales of the Galaxy S3 and Galaxy Note 2, helped Samsung grab the top sales spot in the U.S. for the very first time since the launch of the Apple iPhone 5 in September last year.

"We believe dominant sales of the S4 versus other Android smartphones was driven by Samsung's extremely strong Galaxy consumer brand and well-executed marketing campaign, as our surveys indicated store representatives often recommended the HTC One ahead of the Galaxy S4,” Business Insider quoted Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Walkley as saying.

Research firm comScore said in a report on Tuesday that Apple was a top smartphone manufacturer in the U.S. during the three-month period, ending in April. The company accounted for 39.2 percent of the U.S. smartphone market during the period, its highest share yet.

“The difference between comScore and Canaccord is that comScore measures what's in people's pockets. Canaccord measures what people were buying last month,” the Business Insider reported. “As a result, comScore is more backward looking, whereas Canaccord is more forward looking.”

The HTC One ranked third in sales at AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. Since the handset is not likely to be released at Verizon until later this summer, the Nokia Lumia 928 grabbed the third spot at the carrier.

Take a look at the table below:

Walkley said that the older iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S are also in strong demand among the major carriers, although they could not make it to the top three. And, despite the popularity of previous-generation iPhones among consumers, Walkley still believes that Apple will release a new low-cost iPhone model later this year, which is expected to target emerging markets like India and China.