iPhone took the top spot in global smartphone sales in 2025. Apple outsold all its rivals, including arch-rival Samsung.
iPhone shipments grew 10% year over year, buoyed by strong demand for the new iPhone 17 series.
Apple beats Samsung: iPhone outsells all rivals
The rivalry between Apple and Samsung defines the modern smartphone era, pitting two very different philosophies head-to-head. Apple emphasizes tight integration between hardware and software, using a small, carefully curated lineup of iPhones. Samsung, by contrast, offers a much broader range of devices and price points, providing rapid hardware innovation while letting Google develop the Android operating system.
Apple’s strategy is currently winning. iPhone made up 20% of all smartphones sold worldwide in 2025, according to data released Monday by Counterpoint Research.
“Apple’s growth in 2025 was driven by its expanding presence and rising demand across emerging and mid‑size markets, supported by a stronger product mix,” said Counterpoint Senior Analyst Varun Mishra. “The iPhone 17 series gained significant traction in Q4 following its successful launch, while the iPhone 16 continued to perform exceptionally well in Japan, India and Southeast Asia.”
Apple primarily makes premium handsets, and iPhone shipments are rising as part of a global trend.
“In 2025, the smartphone market continued its gradual shift toward higher price tiers, driven by consumers upgrading to premium devices,” said Counterpoint Senior Analyst Shilpi Jain.
Samsung is still in there swinging
Apple is on top, but Samsung is a close second, carrying 19% of the global smartphone market in 2025, according to Counterpoint. Its shipments grew 5% year over year, with much of the growth driven by the inexpensive Galaxy A series, not its premium models.
In 2024, the two companies were essentially tied for first place, with each controlling 18% of the global market. The same held true in 2023, with the rivals each holding 19% of the world smartphone market.
But both years, the Korean company held a slim lead. And it’s been the best-selling smartphone maker in annual shipments for over a decade, going back to around 2012 or 2013, depending on the source of the data.
And the rest of the field
Chinese brands filled out the rest of the top five in 2025, with Xiaomi retaining the third spot with a 13% market share, according to the analysts at Counterpoint. Vivo and Oppo are tied at 8%.
While the Google Pixel line of Androids may enjoy name recognition, they do not sell well enough to rise into the top 5 on the world market.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
