Apple’s grip on the global smartphone market in 2025 is hard to ignore, and the latest sales data makes that clearer than ever. According to a new roundup from Counterpoint Research tracking the 10 best-selling smartphones of 2025, Apple and Samsung are the only two brands that made the cut—and Apple dominates the very top.
The iPhone 16 takes the crown as the best-selling smartphone of 2025. Even more striking, Apple holds the top four positions in the ranking, with the iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max sitting in the first, second, third, and fourth spots, respectively. Counterpoint notes that Apple and Samsung together filled all top 10 slots, and those devices combined represented 19 percent of global smartphone sales for the year. That’s a huge share for just ten models in a market packed with hundreds of options.
Apple’s newer lineup is also showing momentum. Counterpoint highlights that the base iPhone 17 delivered the highest growth, climbing four spots compared with prior positioning. Even better for Apple, the iPhone 17 series posted 16 percent higher sales than the iPhone 16 series during its first full quarter on the market—an early signal that demand strengthened rather than cooled after launch season.
Samsung, meanwhile, still proved it can compete at the very high end. The Galaxy S25 Ultra reportedly narrowed the sales-share gap with Samsung’s typically dominant midrange A series, despite the big price difference. In other words, premium Android flagships aren’t just surviving—they’re pulling more weight than usual.
Still, Apple’s year hasn’t been flawless across every model and region. In China, reports suggest the iPhone Air has struggled dramatically compared with the rest of the iPhone 17 lineup, with unit sales said to be far lower than Apple’s mainline 17 series. To boost demand, Apple’s official online presence in China has reportedly offered sizable discounts—up to 2,000 yuan (about $286). Additional platform subsidies have also been cited, pushing total discounts even further in some cases.
The iPhone Air’s weak traction appears to be showing up in resale value as well. Data indicates the model has seen the steepest depreciation of any iPhone released since 2022, losing 47.7 percent of its original value within its first 10 weeks. Hardware compromises may be part of the story: a smaller battery, a single 48MP camera (with 2x “optical-quality” zoom), and a single speaker—choices that may have made it a tougher sell at launch pricing.
Even with that stumble, Counterpoint previously projected Apple was on track to finish 2025 with 10 percent year-over-year growth in iPhone shipments, which would push Apple’s global smartphone market share to around 19.4 percent—potentially the highest among all smartphone manufacturers.
China remains a pivotal battleground, and there are signs Apple has had real wins there too. Another Counterpoint report found iPhones accounted for roughly a quarter of all smartphones sold in China during October, a milestone Apple has reached only once before, back in 2022.
The shipment math helps put Apple’s scale into perspective. Apple sold 231.8 million iPhones in 2024, and if shipments rise by 10 percent, that would put 2025 iPhone shipments near 255 million units—an enormous annual total by any standard.
Apple leadership has also been publicly upbeat. During the company’s latest earnings call, CEO Tim Cook predicted Apple would deliver its best-ever December-ending quarter for overall revenue and for iPhone sales—an ambitious claim that fits the broader theme of Apple’s continued dominance in premium smartphones.
Taken together, the data paints a clear picture: Apple isn’t just leading in the flagship tier—it’s shaping the entire smartphone market’s top sellers in 2025. Even with a few missteps, the iPhone’s global momentum looks strong, and the race for the best-selling phones continues to revolve around Apple’s biggest releases and Samsung’s most premium challengers.
