The iPhone XR was the most popular smartphone in North America during the first quarter (Q1) of 2019, with nearly 45 lakh units shipped, even as handset shipments declined 18 percent year-on-year (YoY), according to Canalys Research estimates.

Smartphone shipments in North America plummeted to a five-year low of 3.64 crore units, down from a record high of 4.44 crore units shipped in Q1 2018.

The iPhone maker shipped 1.46 crore devices in Q1 2019 in total, compared to 1.79 crore devices shipped during Q1 2018.

"Apple's fall in Q1 followed particularly high shipments of flagship iPhones in the previous quarter," Vincent Thielke, Analyst, Canalys Research, said in a statement.

"But there was a disconnect between channel orders and consumer demand, which then caused early shipments in Q1 to be challenging for Apple."

Despite the decline, the company managed to maintain 40 percent market share in North America, one of the regions where it sees the strong performance.

The next best was Samsung's Galaxy S10+ and S10e, which reached two million units, or six per cent, each.

"Samsung also benefited from carrier promotions in Q1, which used the Galaxy S10e as an incentive," said Thielke.

Samsung, with a 29.3 percent market share, shipped 1.07 crore devices, LG 48 lakh devices and Lenovo shipped 24 lakh devices.