Apple Dominates Smartphone Market With 20 Percent Share as Industry Leader

Apple is currently experiencing remarkable sales momentum on a global scale, largely attributable to the launch of its new iPhone 17 lineup. The ongoing popularity of the previous-generation iPhone 16 models further enhances this success. Due to this impressive performance, Apple has ascended to the position of the largest smartphone brand worldwide by market share.

A bar chart titled 'YoY% Change in Shipments' shows Apple with a 10% increase and Samsung with a 5% increase in 2025 compared to 2023. — Apple leads global smartphone OEMs with a 20% market share

Recently, Counterpoint Research released a comprehensive report highlighting that Apple “led the global smartphone market in 2025 with a 20% share and 10% YoY shipment growth, the highest among the top five brands.”

Key findings from the report include:

Global smartphone shipments saw a 2% year-over-year growth for the second consecutive year in 2025.
The iPhone 17 series gained substantial popularity in Q4 after a successful launch, while the iPhone 16 continued to excel in markets such as Japan, India, and Southeast Asia.
Samsung closed 2025 with a 19% market share and a 5% increase in year-over-year shipments.
While facing challenges in Latin America and Western Europe, Samsung’s growth was bolstered by strong performance in Japan and steady success in its core markets.
Xiaomi secured its position as the third-largest global smartphone OEM with approximately 13% market share.
Looking forward, Counterpoint Research anticipates a 3% decline in global smartphone sales in 2026 due to anticipated AI-driven shortages of DRAM and NAND, coupled with rising component costs.

It is noteworthy that a similar analysis from Counterpoint Research, released in late November 2025, projected a 10% year-over-year growth in iPhone shipments, suggesting that Apple would achieve a market share of around 19.4%.This marked Apple’s first anticipated leadership in the global smartphone market in over ten years, positioning Samsung as the second in command.

For context, Apple sold approximately 231.8 million iPhones in 2024. This indicates that a 10% increase from this figure translates to an impressive estimated total of about 254.98 million iPhones shipped in 2025.

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