Apple has become the biggest smartphone brand in the world, dethroning Samsung by 2025. This is the first time in 14 years that Apple has outsold its perennial Korean enemy. Apple has a 20 per cent global market share, Counterpoint Research says, based primarily around strong demand for the iPhone 17 series.

Apple Rules the Leaderboard

According to Counterpoint, Apple grew 10 per cent year-over-year, outperforming the top five smartphone companies. The surge was driven chiefly by the iPhone 17 series, which debuted in September 2025, as well as sustained demand for the iPhone 16 in markets like India, Japan and Southeast Asia.

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The iPhone 16 was also the best-selling smartphone in India at the end of 2025. Apple posted its best quarterly share in the fourth quarter of 2019, taking nearly a quarter of all global smartphone shipments. Samsung narrowly trailed with a slightly smaller share.

Apple also got a lift from the increasing popularity of premium smartphones. The global smartphone market as a whole grew approximately 2 per cent, according to Apple. This growth was further fuelled by the COVID era’s upgrade cycle hitting an inflection point as millions of users finally upgraded from older devices.

Analysts had already forecast several months ago that Apple should pass Samsung.

Samsung Slips to Second Place

Samsung ended 2025 with a 19 per cent share of the global market, compared with Apple’s 20. The company saw a 5 per cent year-over-year growth driven by robust sales of its Galaxy A series at the mid-tier and Galaxy S25 series as well as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 in the high end.

But demand for Samsung weakened in Latin America and Western Europe, capping its overall growth even after gains in Japan and its home markets.

The Rest of the Top Five

Xiaomi stayed in third place with a 13 per cent market share. Its performance was driven by consistent premiumisation, robust emerging market growth and effective channel management.

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By contrast, Vivo grew only 3 per cent, and Oppo fell 4 per cent in total. Oppo fell primarily because of fierce competition in China and the broader Asia-Pacific region, although it gained ground in India and the Middle East and Africa.

What This Shift Means

Apple’s ascension signals a clear turn toward premium smartphones worldwide, as consumers with deeper pockets deliver an upward bump to longer-lasting, feature-rich devices. Whether Apple can retain its new crown in 2026 will now depend on the reaction from Samsung, Xiaomi and Chinese manufacturers in a rapidly escalating battle.