Joy Agwunobi
Global smartphone shipments returned to steady growth in 2025, rising 2 percent year on year as improving economic conditions and stronger consumer demand in emerging markets helped lift the industry, according to preliminary figures from Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor.
The data shows that Apple emerged as the market leader for the year, overtaking Samsung to claim the top spot with a 20 per cent share of global shipments. This marked a shift from 2024, when Samsung led the market, and reflected Apple’s strongest annual performance among the top five smartphone brands.
Counterpoint estimates that Apple recorded a 10 per cent year-on-year increase in shipments, the fastest growth rate within the leading group.
Apple’s rise was underpinned by solid demand beyond its traditional strongholds. According to Counterpoint, the company benefited from expanding sales in emerging and mid-sized markets, alongside sustained interest in its premium devices. Strong momentum from the iPhone 17 series, particularly in the final quarter of the year, played a key role in lifting overall shipments.
At the same time, older models such as the iPhone 16 continued to sell well in markets including Japan, India and parts of Southeast Asia, giving Apple a broader and more resilient product mix.
In the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, Apple accounted for roughly one in four smartphones shipped globally, its highest-ever quarterly market share.Varun Mishra, senior analyst, attributed this performance to Apple’s growing footprint outside mature markets and its ability to balance new flagship launches with continued demand for earlier models.
He also pointed to a delayed replacement cycle from the COVID-19 period, noting that a large pool of users reached an upgrade point in 2025, boosting sales across multiple regions.
Samsung finished the year in second place with a 19 percent market share and a more modest 5 per cent growth in shipments. Counterpoint noted that Samsung’s performance was driven largely by steady demand for its Galaxy A series in the mid-range segment. In the premium category, the Galaxy Fold7 and Galaxy S25 series helped sustain interest and outperformed their predecessors, although not enough to prevent Apple from taking the overall lead.
Xiaomi retained its third-place position with a 13 per cent share of the global market. The company’s shipments remained relatively stable, supported by its gradual move toward higher-priced devices, resilient demand in emerging markets and a balanced mix of flagship and mid-tier smartphones. Vivo and OPPO followed behind, maintaining their presence but without significant shifts in market ranking.
Beyond individual brand performance, Counterpoint observed that the smartphone market maintained its growth momentum throughout 2025, driven by a broader industry trend toward premiumisation. Financing schemes, aggressive marketing and aspirational demand encouraged more consumers to move up to higher-priced devices. At the same time, adoption of 5G smartphones accelerated across emerging markets, adding another layer of support to overall shipment volumes.
However, growth was not evenly distributed across regions. Gains in Japan, the Middle East and Africa, and parts of Asia-Pacific helped offset weaker demand in more mature markets, where replacement cycles remain longer and consumer spending more cautious. In the fourth quarter, overall smartphone shipments grew by just 1 per cent year on year, weighed down by inventory accumulated earlier in the year, even as Apple maintained its lead over Samsung during the period.
Shilpi Jain, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research, noted that shipment patterns in 2025 were also influenced by supply-side decisions. Original equipment manufacturers front-loaded shipments in the first half of the year amid concerns over potential tariff increases. As the year progressed, those tariff impacts proved less severe than initially feared, limiting their effect on second-half shipment volumes but contributing to inventory pressures later in the year.
Looking ahead, Counterpoint expects conditions to become more challenging in 2026. Tarun Pathak, research director, said the global smartphone market is likely to soften as rising component costs and shortages of DRAM and NAND memory begin to weigh on production. He added that chipmakers’ growing focus on supplying AI data centres could further constrain availability for smartphones, putting pressure on both volumes and pricing.
The outlook contrasts with the recovery seen in 2024, when the global smartphone market recorded a 4 per cent year-on-year increase after two consecutive years of decline. That rebound was led by Samsung, which retained market leadership at the time on the back of strong demand for its Galaxy S24 and A-series devices. The Galaxy S24, Samsung’s first AI-focused smartphone, performed particularly well in Western Europe and the United States, highlighting early consumer interest in AI-driven features.
Taken together, the 2025 results suggest a market that is stabilising but increasingly shaped by premium demand, emerging market growth and shifting competitive dynamics at the top, with Apple’s ascent underscoring how global expansion and product depth are becoming just as important as innovation in sustaining leadership.
