In the third quarter of 2025, Samsung held the largest share of global smartphone shipments, at ** percent. Long-time competitor Apple ranked second, with an **** percent market share. Samsung and Apple smartphone sales Smartphone vendors have been suffering from the events of the past couple of years, including the pandemic and the economic downturn. However, they all appear to be recovering, as shown by the recent increase in shipments. For instance, mostly based on the main line of Galaxy Series, Samsung's smartphone shipments totaled nearly ***** million units globally in 2024. Next to Samsung, Apple is a major manufacturer of smartphones worldwide, with the company shipping more than *** million iPhones worldwide in 2024. Apple’s sales tend to be very cyclical, peaking in the fourth quarter each year, much like in the fourth quarter of 2023, when they took the first spot in terms of units shipped globally with around **** units. Xiaomi in the lead While Apple and Samsung are typically the two major companies challenging for the top spot, Huawei had provided a strong challenge in recent years. Particularly, the Chinese company managed to climb the smartphone market ladder between 2011 and 2024, recording shipments of over ** million smartphones in the fourth quarter of 2024. However, strong performances from rivals like Xiaomi and the effects of the U.S. trade ban have since seen Huawei fall outside the list of top five vendors by smartphone shipments.

Apple and Samsung were the leading smartphone vendors by the share of shipments in the United States in the second quarter of 2025, at ** percent and ** percent, respectively. Lenovo ranked third, having accounted for ** percent of shipments. Global smartphone market While Apple continues to lead the U.S. smartphone market, it has traditionally lagged on the global scale. Samsung has been the leading smartphone vendor worldwide since 2012. However, Samsung’s lead in terms of market share has started to dwindle in recent years, meaning that Apple and other Chinese competitors, such as Xiaomi, vivo, and Huawei, have seen a boost in the smartphone industry. Apple’s traction on the global scale in 2020 comes from its move towards 5G-enabled smartphones, which have doubled sales in one year, from 2020 to 2021, alone. Apple is currently the leading vendor in terms of global 5G smartphone shipments. The introduction of 5G throughout the world brings with it the possibility to upheave the smartphone market as we know it. Are U.S. consumers satisfied with Apple and Samsung phones? Apple and Samsung not only lead the smartphone market in the United States in terms of usage but also in terms of customer satisfaction. The highest ranked smartphone models on the American customer satisfaction index are nearly all Samsung Galaxy and Apple iPhone models. Furthermore, it appears that U.S. smartphone users are unlikely to change their primarily used smartphone brand anytime soon.

As of the first quarter of 2024, Samsung was the leading smartphone vendor, holding 20 percent of the market. Apple followed closely occupying 17 percent of the global smartphone market. Other vendors had lower shares.

As of 2023, for the first time ever, Apple ranked as the market leader in the global smartphone market with a **** percent share of all shipments. The tech giant retained the top title in 2024, with a share of nearly ** percent of the global smartphone market. Samsung ranked second, holding ** percent of the market share. Global smartphone market shareSamsung has seen its popularity steadily increase since it held just a *** percent of the smartphone vendor market at the beginning of 2010. Samsung’s share of the overall mobile phone market, has fluctuated in recent times, dropping to under ** percent in the most recent year. Apple became smartphone market leader based on shipments in 2023. Apple’s smartphone sales are relatively cyclical and peak in the fourth quarter each year. In the fourth quarter of 2024, ** percent of all smartphones new smartphones sold were iPhones. The iPhone generated considerable revenue for Apple with sales of the device amounting to over *** billion U.S. dollars in their 2024 financial year.

Samsung held a **-percent share of the global smartphone market in the third quarter of 2025. Apple followed closely behind, with an overall share of ** percent. The changing face of the smartphone market The makeup of the smartphone market has changed significantly since 2009. Nokia used to lead the industry with almost ** percent of the smartphone market share in 2007, and before the arrival of the iPhone, it was hard for consumers to imagine Nokia becoming a market outsider. Huawei's rise and fall have had a significant impact on the face of the market. Huawei consistently challenged Apple and Samsung for position at the top of the market, even leading it in the second quarter of 2020. Huawei has not appeared in the top five since the second quarter of 2021, largely as a result of trade restrictions. RIM’s BlackBerry devices stand as an example of the effect large-display touchscreen devices had on the market. BlackBerry devices sold on a number of strengths, including a well-designed physical QWERTY keyboard and secure enterprise integration. The BlackBerry lost its unique value as touchscreen devices improved, leading to a significant decline in revenue. RIM eventually ceased development of the BlackBerry in 2016.

As of July 2024, Apple’s iPhone 15 was the most popular smartphone model sold in the United States, accounting for over **** percent of total smartphone sales. The iPhone was the most popular smartphone in the United States at that time, occupying four spots in the top five. Apple and Samsung: two leading competitors Apple and Samsung are the leading smartphone vendors in the United States with a combined market share of almost ** percent in the second quarter of 2023. The two smartphone vendors dominate the U.S. smartphone market not only in terms of sales, but also when it comes to customer satisfaction: Samsung’s Galaxy line and the Apple iPhones are the highest ranked smartphone models on the American customer satisfaction index. In line with their successes in the United States, Apple and Samsung also lead the global smartphone market, albeit to a lesser degree – the two brands have a combined market share of close to ** percent. Smartphone penetration the highest in the United States Smartphone sales value in the United States more than doubled in the last decade, making the U.S. one of the major smartphone markets globally. In 2024, over *** million smartphones were forecast to be sold, with the number of U.S. smartphone users forecast expected to grow in the coming years.

In the first quarter of 2024, Samsung and Apple were leaders of the European smartphone market. Xiaomi grew from **** percent in the first quarter of 2019 to ** percent in the first quarter of 2024. Smartphones make up the primary component of the European mobile phone market, with the smartphone penetration rate in Europe being forecast to reach almost ** percent in 2024. Leading manufacturers maintain their share While the total share of the European market held by Samsung and Apple has fluctuated during this time, they still accounted for more than ** percent of the total market in the first quarter of 2024. The two tech giants alone were responsible for around ** percent of global smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2024. Rather than the larger manufacturers, it has been the smaller manufacturers such as LG, ZTE and Lenovo that have seen their share of shipments decline. Since the third quarter of 2020, Huawei’s share has dropped significantly as well. Huawei stalls Huawei’s previous growth was observed in the increase of total number of handsets shipped to **** million units in the second quarter of 2020. However, in the fourth quarter of 2020, Huawei’s total number of shipments dropped significantly to **** million, and their European smartphone market share dropped to *** percent in the third quarter of 2021.

As of the fourth quarter of 2024, Vivo accounted for the second-highest market share of smartphone shipments in China at **** percent. In the same observed period, Honor, a divested brand from Huawei since November 2020, gained significant market shares, while Huawei itself, leading player in this market by the end of 2020, has returned to the top five list after a two-year absence. Huawei made a comeback after the launch of the Mate 60 Pro, which took the industry by surprise. Development of the Chinese smartphone market Having contributed massively to the Chinese economy in the last decade, the smartphone industry has been a rather successful industry in China for a long time. This success has even started to spread overseas, mainly from the leading vendors Huawei, OPPO and Xiaomi. Since 2011, the number of smartphone shipments in China has steadily increased, reaching over *** million units in 2016 at the highest ever shipment. However, the figure dropped slightly since 2017, and continue to below *** million units from 2018. Despite this decline, more smartphones were sold in China than in any other country in the world. Smartphones in China China is a country where the smartphone is the key to every-day life. In 2014, there were ***** million smartphone users in China. By 2022, this figure reached over *********** and was subsequently expected to exceed *********** users by 2027. In terms of operating systems, Google’s Android holds around ** percent of the market share, whereas Apple’s iOS accounts for about ** percent of the smartphone operating system market in China. Despite the relatively easier access to cheap smartphones in the market, Chinese consumers still considered the practicalities, namely the internal memory and processor, as the most importantly factor when buying a phone, even much more than the price level and photo qualities.

After fierce competition among Vivo, Samsung, and Xiaomi over the past few years, Vivo became the leading smartphone brand in India, with a **-percent share of shipments in the third quarter of 2025. However, in the first two quarters of 2024, Xiaomi and Samsung ranked as high as or higher than Vivo. Aside from Samsung, the other four top smartphone brands are Chinese. Smartphone market share in India The number of smartphone users in India, the most populous country in the world, was on the rise. In 2023, the number of smartphone users in the country surpassed *********** for the first time. This figure was forecasted to jump to nearly **** billion by 2040. And, around ***** percent of the population in India purchase their phones online. This growth can also be observed in the volume of smartphone shipments in India. The number of smartphone shipments in India increased from **** million units in the second quarter of 2012 to ** million units in the third quarter of 2024. Major players South Korean giant Samsung, a leader in the global smartphone market, had been the top smartphone vendor in India since early 2013, when the company held about ** percent of the market share, until the end of 2017. But its position has been challenged by the Chinese smartphone manufacturers like Vivo, Xiaomi, and Oppo. Vivo is a Chinese tech company based in Guangdong. It's one of the top five smartphone manufacturers in the world. And Xiaomi has quickly risen to the top of China's crowded technology market and is now one of the leading consumer electronics manufacturers globally since its founding in 2010. Xiaomi specializes primarily in smartphones but is also active in other markets, and it started manufacturing electric vehicles in 2023.

In the third quarter of 2024, Samsung took the top position among smartphone vendors by shipments, accounting for 19 percent of the market share, followed by Apple with 18 percent. Xiaomi came in third with 14 percent of smartphone shipments worldwide.

In 2023, the used smartphone market share (including both officially refurbished and used smartphones) in North America reached ** percent. The used smartphone market is expected to decrease in North America and by 2026, it will amount to less than ** percent of the global used smartphone market. The global refurbished smartphone market In recent years, the refurbished smartphone market has been growing at a global level and reached a size of roughly ** billion U.S. dollars in 2021. In the same year, over 251 million used or refurbished smartphones were shipped globally, with Latin America and India being the market leaders in terms of growth. The U.S. refurbished smartphone market Despite the U.S. playing an active role in the global refurbished smartphone market, Americans appear to prefer to buy new phones instead of reconditioned ones, mainly because they are concerned with the quality and reliability of their smartphones. However, those who do buy such devices prefer Apple iPhones rather than Android smartphones, making the iPhone XR and the iPhone 11 the most popular reconditioned smartphones.

In October 2025, Samsung was the brand with the highest market share in Mexico, accounting for over ** percent of the smartphone web traffic in the North American country. As of October 2025, the brand also ranked first in South America.

Samsung is one of the most popular smartphones in Germany, and consistently sold more smartphones in the country than any other vendor until the fourth quarter of 2024 when Apple took over. Apple's share of the market increased from only 31 percent in the third quarter to over 37 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Smartphones running the Android operating system hold an ** percent share of the global market in 2019 and this is expected to increase over the forthcoming years. The mobile operating system developed by Apple (iOS) has a ** percent share of the market.

How Android became the market leader Android’s global success can in many ways be attributed to its open-source software that can be installed on all smartphone devices for free. Developed by Google, the open code provides manufacturers the freedom to choose which apps are pre-installed on their devices, and they can customize layouts to create unique experiences for users. The first commercial version of the Android software was released in 2008 and its rise to market leader was almost instant. The platform held a **** percent share of the global operating systems’ market in 2009, but this figure increased by around ** percent each year for the next three years.

The global smartphone market Annual sales of smartphones have increased to around **** billion units worldwide. They are now available to everyone and not just those with wealth. The cost of buying a smartphone has continued to fall each year, with the global average price now being around *** U.S. dollars. Fierce competition within the smartphone market could be one reason why prices are falling. Samsung (South Korea) and Apple (U.S.) have historically held large shares of global smartphone production, but Chinese brands Huawei, Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo are now offering alternative devices that are proving popular worldwide.

As of February 2025, ****************** were the most popular mobile devices in Poland. Together, these brands possessed over **** of the Polish market share. Other places were taken by Apple and Motorola, while ****** was ranked fifth. Mobile device operators In 2023, there were almost ** million smartphone users in Poland, nearly twice as many as in 2019. Moreover, the number of smartphone users is expected to grow to over ** million by 2027. In 2023, P4 (Play) was one of the leaders in the number of mobile telephony users, with a ** percent market share, followed by Orange with ** percent. In terms of revenues, Orange was the leader among mobile operators, with almost ********* of Poland's mobile telephony revenues. The next position was taken by Polkomtel, with a ** percent share in mobile telephony revenues in 2023. Mobile applications In 2023, mobile applications were very popular among mobile users. The leader among mobile applications was the Google app, which had almost ** million users. The next places were taken by Facebook app and Messenger app. Additionally, Poles often used mobile applications to communicate with family and friends. In 2022, the most popular was Messenger on Facebook. In that year, ** percent of Poles used Messenger to communicate with others. The second place was taken by WhatsApp, which was used by ** percent of respondents. In recent years, it has become increasingly popular to watch TV series on phone applications. In 2024, the most popular free mobile application was the online shopping platform — Temu.

Just two manufacturers make up the top five smartphone models in the United Kingdom (UK), with Apple iPhones accounting for almost ** percent of the market. As July 2024, the iPhone ** Pro Max was the most popular model in the UK, accounting for almost ** percent of sales.

In January 2025, the ********************* was the best-selling smartphone on the Indian market with a share of *** percent. This was followed by OPPO's A3x. With *** percent, Apple is increasing popular in the country with iPhone 16. Android market India was the second-largest market for Android smartphones. And in 2024, more than *** million smartphones were sold in the country and the number is likely to grow in the following years. Realme has a great potential for growth as it has been marketed as a youth-centric smartphone with great quality at an affordable price. Realme has plans to launch new lifestyle products other than just smartphones. As the country has rolled out 5G services by the end of 2022, companies have started offering their first 5G phones in India. Common activities on smartphones With affordable and cheap smartphones, India’s data consumption was the highest in the world. The data usage per smartphone was at an average of 29 GB per month, according to a report by Ericsson. Data was mainly used for video calls followed by scanning QR codes and using mobile payment apps that increased the mobile data traffic.

In the third quarter of 2025, Apple retained its majority market share in Canada, accounting for about *****percent of the country's entire smartphone market. This was a decrease compared to the previous quarter.

As of April 2025, Oppo led the mobile vendor market in Indonesia, with a share of around **** percent. It was followed closely by Samsung, with a share of about **** percent. Collectively, Oppo, Samsung, and Xiaomi accounted for **** of the mobile market share in the country. Oppo's rising dominance Oppo’s market share in Indonesia has risen significantly over the past years. The brand's relatively affordable prices have been one of the key drivers of its growth in the country, as Indonesian consumers tend to look for value for their money, searching for smartphones that are reasonably priced with good performance. In 2023, Oppo managed to tail Samsung in terms of the market share of unit shipments, indicating strong competition in the rapidly evolving Indonesian smartphone market. Smartphone usage and the telecommunications market With a substantial number of mobile internet users, Indonesia’s telecommunications market is one of the largest in Southeast Asia. Smartphones in Indonesia are used for various activities that require reliable network capabilities, such as video streaming and online gaming. While users have reported positive experience with 5G networks for these activities, the development of 5G infrastructure in Indonesia is still faced with challenges, including high costs and spectrum shortages. This has led to significantly slower 5G network growth compared to Indonesia’s neighboring countries, such as Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand.

Samsung has remained a leading competitor in the global smartphone market. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the company shipped approximately 61.4 million units, accounting for a 19 percent share of global smartphone shipments. Its long-time rival Apple followed closely, with an 18.3 percent market share. Samsung’s smartphone market share The smartphone market has fluctuated considerably since 2009. Nokia used to lead the industry with almost 50 percent of the smartphone market share in 2007, but the company’s market presence dropped to around three percent in 2013. Apple and Samsung have remained among the top five smartphone vendors in the world since 2009. Samsung’s Galaxy, first released in 2009, is their main line of smartphone products, while Apple heavily invests in the iPhone, a primary source of revenue for the company. Samsung’s smartphone market share increased significantly in a span of three years, going from three percent in the second quarter of 2009 to 32.2 percent in the second quarter of 2012. None of its competitors have experienced a similar growth. As the overall smartphone market also grew, Samsung was able to maintain its position as the global market leader. In 2024 alone, the Korean electronics giant shipped around 223.5 million smartphones worldwide, and accounted for 19.4 percent of all smartphone shipments worldwide.