The average selling price (ASP) of smartphones is expected to reach *** U.S. dollars in 2021, ** U.S. dollars more expensive than the ASP in 2016. In 2019, the ASP of an android device was ** U.S. dollars lower than the overall average. More options, higher prices The availability of newer form options has seen higher priced models enter the market, such as the folding phones introduced in 2020. The Samsung Galaxy Fold, for example, retails at ******** U.S. dollars in the United States, making it one of the most expensive smartphones on the market. Prices around the world Different brands providing products under different economic circumstances means that the price bands at which phones are sold varies greatly around the world. In Latin America, **** of all smartphones sold during the second quarter of 2019 had a price tag of *** U.S. dollars or less, while ** percent of smartphones shipped to Africa during the fourth quarter of 2019 had a price tag of *** U.S. dollars or less.

Smartphones running on Android OS were sold for *** U.S. dollars on average in Russia in the first three months of 2021, which marked an increase on the price recorded over the same period in the previous year. The average sales price of Android smartphones fell to *** U.S. dollars in the second quarter of 2020.

The average consumer price of a smartphone in Russia reached 16,758.5 Russian rubles in May 2025. The highest figure over the period observed was recorded in December 2023. To compare, in January 2021, a smartphone in Russia cost approximately 10,200 Russian rubles on average.

The average selling price (ASP) of a 5G smartphone increased from the third quarter of 2020 to the first quarter of 2021, due to the release of the iPhone ** and the Samsung Galaxy ***. By the first quarter of 2021, the average selling price of a 5G capable smartphone reached *** U.S. dollars.

In the first seven months of 2021, American mobile phone imports reached $29B, which was +21% higher than the figures of the same period of 2020. The U.S. constitutes the world’s leading importer of mobile phones. Last year, American imports dropped by -9.5% y-o-y to $49.5B. China remains the largest exporter of mobile phones to the U.S., supplying 79% of American imports in value terms. In the first half of 2021, Chinese exports to America grew by +45% to $20.5B compared to $14.1B recorded in the same period of 2020. The average mobile phone import price rose by +3.9% to $273 per unit in 2020.

In 2020, more smartphones were sold in Greater China than any other region in the world at over 368 million units. The annual global smartphone sales plateaued at around 1.5 billion units in the previous years, but dropped in 2020 to 1.38 billion units, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Before 2020, only China and other emerging countries in Asia were still showing growth. The potential for growth in China is reflected in the country's smartphone penetration rate, as currently, only around half of the population is using a smartphone.

Americas and Europe stagnating
Sales in the Americas region and Europe are predicted to decrease compared to pre-pandemic sales, with the largest drop in smartphone sales in 2021 predicted for North America, where smartphone sales are expected to decrease by around 8 million units in 2021 compared to 2019.

Africa and Middle East with modest growth

In contrast to the decreasing markets in Europa and the Americas, smartphone sales are expected to increase in Sub-Saharan countries and North Africa as well as the Middle East from 2019 to 2021. Shipments to the Middle East and Africa have been steadily growing since 2013. Drivers for the growth in these markets are the still low smartphone penetration and the average selling price for smartphones that is only half of the average price in North America.

In 2022, smartphone vendors sold around 1.39 billion smartphones were sold worldwide, with this number forecast to drop to 1.34 billion in 2023.

Smartphone penetration rate still on the rise

Less than half of the world’s total population owned a smart device in 2016, but the smartphone penetration rate has continued climbing, reaching 78.05 percent in 2020. By 2025, it is forecast that almost 87 percent of all mobile users in the United States will own a smartphone, an increase from the 27 percent of mobile users in 2010.

Smartphone end user sales

In the United States alone, sales of smartphones were projected to be worth around 73 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, an increase from 18 billion dollars in 2010. Global sales of smartphones are expected to increase from 2020 to 2021 in every major region, as the market starts to recover from the initial impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

In 2024, the Dutch mobile phone market was finally on the rise to reach $4.5B for the first time since 2021, thus ending a two-year declining trend. In general, the total consumption indicated a tangible expansion from 2012 to 2024: its value increased at an average annual rate of +3.9% over the last twelve-year period. The trend pattern, however, indicated some noticeable fluctuations being recorded throughout the analyzed period.

In 2024, the Scandinavia mobile phone market was finally on the rise to reach $7.5B for the first time since 2021, thus ending a two-year declining trend. The market value increased at an average annual rate of +2.0% over the period from 2012 to 2024; the trend pattern remained relatively stable, with only minor fluctuations in certain years. As a result, consumption attained the peak level and is likely to continue growth in the immediate term.

The number of smartphone mobile network subscriptions worldwide reached almost 7.3 billion in 2025, and is forecast to exceed 7.9 billion by 2028. China, India, and the United States are the countries with the highest number of smartphone mobile network subscriptions. Smartphone unit sales levelling off The smartphone market still has high growth potential, with the smartphone penetration rate remaining lower than 70 percent in many highly populated markets, in particular China and India. Global smartphone revenue reached 481 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, but was expected to have fallen to 463 billion in 2022. Despite stagnating sales, the increasing average selling price of smartphones is expected to support the market over the coming years. Leading smartphone vendors The leading smartphone vendors today are Samsung and Apple. These technology companies account for about half of all smartphone shipments worldwide.

Smartphone usage in the United Kingdom has increased across all age ranges since 2012, most noticeably among those aged 55-64 years of age. Whereas just nine percent of mobile phone users aged 55 to 64 years used a smartphone in 2012, this number rose to over 90 percent by 2023 and reached 93 percent in 2024. Smartphones are becoming more accessible As well as becoming more ubiquitous, smartphones are also becoming more accessible. In terms of price, the global average selling price of smartphones has fallen from 336.8 U.S. dollars in 2010, to 276.20 U.S. dollars in 2015. However, estimates available from 2019 predicted that the average selling price of smartphones worldwide will increase again and reach 317 U.S. dollars by 2021. The average selling price for smartphones in Europe was at around 373 euros in 2019. Smartphone usage in the UK Smartphones are the Swiss army knife of digital devices, with their capabilities limited by the creativity of developers as much as it is the technology contained in the phone. In 2017, communications were the most popular ways to use a phone, however, 87 percent of users report using camera apps frequently, 85 percent report frequent use of browser apps, and 68 percent report frequent use of navigation apps.

The number of foldable smartphone unit shipments is forecast to increase between 2021 and 2027, reaching over 100 million by 2027. Similarly, the share of unit shipments of foldables with an average wholesale price of above *** U.S. dollars is expected to grow, peaking at almost ** percent by 2027.

The average monthly fee paid to mobile phone operators in Japan amounted to around **** thousand Japanese yen in the case of the three large mobile carriers docomo, au, and SoftBank. In the case of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs), the average monthly cost was less than ******* of that sum.

The global smartphone penetration rate was estimated at ** percent in 2024, up from 2023. This is based on an estimated *** billion smartphone subscriptions worldwide and a global population of around *** billion. Regional differences in smartphone penetration Throughout the world, the smartphone penetration rate in the general population varies greatly. For example, in North America and Europe, the smartphone adoption rate stands at roughly ** and ** percent, respectively. Whereas in Sub-Saharan Africa, the same rate only stands at ** percent as of late 2023, showing a roughly ** percent difference in adoption rates between the highest and lowest ranked regions. Global smartphone shipments The number of global smartphone shipments saw a drop in recent years. However, the number of shipments is expected to recover to previous levels in the upcoming years. Most recently, Samsung and Apple have been leading the share of smartphone shipments worldwide, with other competitors such as Xiaomi and Oppo are catching up. Most of the top contributors to the smartphone market are concentrated in the Asia-Pacific region, which is also the region is the one with the most smartphone sales to end users as a whole.

In 2024, the volume of smartphone shipments in India was about *** million, up slightly from about *** million the previous year. The year-on-year change rate was at four percent. 5G smartphone shipments reached *** million in the same year. And the average selling price reached a new peak of *** U.S. dollars. 5G in India Since October 2022, 5G services have been launched in India in 13 cities, including most of the major Indian cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. Reliance Jio, Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Idea, and Adani Data Networks won 5G licenses through auctions for a total of *** trillion Indian rupees. Reliance Jio, the most popular telecom service provider in India with close to ** percent market share, was also one of the first to offer 5G services. Popular smartphones in India The smartphone market in India is incredibly competitive. Some of the most popular smartphone brands in the country were from China, including Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo. The market was dominated by medium to lower-priced phones, and models from the premium price category had a hard time increasing their market share. But recently, Apple’s iPhone started to see increased popularity among urban elites, and in 2023, more than ** million units of iPhones were sold in India.

The number of Apple iPhone unit sales dramatically increased between 2007 and 2024. Indeed, in 2007, when the iPhone was first introduced, Apple shipped around **** million smartphones. By 2024, this number reached over ***** million units. The newest models and iPhone’s lasting popularity Apple has ventured into its 17th smartphone generation with its Phone ** lineup, which, released in September 2025, includes the **, ** Plus, ** Pro and Pro Max. Powered by the A19 bionic chip and running on iOS **, these models present improved displays, cameras, and functionalities. On the one hand, such features come, however, with hefty price tags, namely, an average of ***** U.S. dollars. On the other hand, they contribute to making Apple among the leading smartphone vendors worldwide, along with Samsung and Xiaomi. In the first quarter of 2024, Samsung shipped over ** million smartphones, while Apple recorded shipments of roughly ** million units. Success of Apple’s other products Apart from the iPhone, which is Apple’s most profitable product, Apple is also the inventor of other heavy-weight players in the consumer electronics market. The Mac computer and the iPad, like the iPhone, are both pioneers in their respective markets and have helped popularize the use of PCs and tablets. The iPad is especially successful, having remained as the largest vendor in the tablet market ever since its debut. The hottest new Apple gadget is undoubtedly the Apple Watch, which is a line of smartwatches that has fitness tracking capabilities and can be integrated via iOS with other Apple products and services. The Apple Watch has also been staying ahead of other smart watch vendors since its initial release and secures around ** percent of the market share as of the latest quarter.

In December 2018, the iPhone * accounted for nearly ** percent of all iPhone sales worldwide. Newer models such as the iPhone XS and XS Max, which were released in September of 2018, make up a smaller share of sales, retaining **** and **** percent of the iPhone market share respectively. Apple iPhone Apple released the first iPhone in June of 2007, and the product has become a staple of their line of electronics ever since. Twenty-one different models have been released over the product’s life span, with at least one new iPhone hitting the market in every year since 2007. Apple routinely reports annual iPhone sales figures of more than *** million units, and the company’s iPhone segment accounts for more than ** percent of total revenue. The iPhone’s place in the smartphone market Once accounting for nearly a quarter of global smartphone market share, the iPhone has since faced increased competition from the South Korean electronics giant Samsung, as well as Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Oppo. The global average price for smartphones is forecast to grow in the near future, reaching a projected *** U.S. dollars in 2021. With some newer models having a price tag of over ***** dollars, the iPhone is clearly positioned as a luxury product.