Apple had the most smartphone activations in the US in Q1 2019

Apple had a rather lackluster 2018. The American company reported a drop in sales numbers across the board and was actually being outsold by Huawei globally for most of the year. According to data published by CIRP (Consumer Intelligence Research Partners), the company has had a significantly more encouraging start this year, at least in the US.

Going by CIRP's data, Apple accounted for 36% of device activations in the US. Samsung came in close second with 34%, with LG and Motorola completing the top four with 11% and 10% respectively. In total, Android devices accounted for 64% of activations in Q1, leaving the remaining 2% for the less-popular mobile operating systems.

Apple's 34% figure represents a slight increase over the same period last year, but is still lower than previous years. In Q1 2016, for example, the company had a 40% share. 

Of course, the US market is only just the third-biggest smartphone market in the world, after China and India. Apple's global market share isn't quite as impressive as its US numbers would imply, with Samsung having a heavy advantage.