Manufacturers’ market share of smartphone sales in the United States is led by Apple and Samsung, with a market share of 52 percent and 24 percent, respectively, as of the second quarter of 2024. Next to Apple and Samsung are Lenovo and HMD, with respective market shares of 12 and one percent.  Global smartphone market While Apple continues to lead the U.S. smartphone market, it has traditionally lagged behind 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 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 July 2024, Apple’s iPhone 15 was the most popular smartphone model sold in the United States, accounting for over 17.5 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 80 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 40 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 118 million smartphones were forecast to be sold, with the number of U.S. smartphone users forecast expected to grow in the coming years.

Apple has kept its position as the leading brand in the smartphone market in North America in the first quarter of 2024, shipping more smartphones than any other vendor. Apple held 52 percent of the smartphone market in North America, while Samsung, with the second-largest market share, held 31 percent on the North American smartphone market.

In 2023, the used smartphone market share (including both officially refurbished and used smartphones) in North America reached 26 percent. The used smartphone market is expected to decrease in North America and by 2026, it will amount to les than 25 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 50 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.

Apple's iOS continues to hold the largest share of the smartphone operating systems market in the United States, claiming more than half of the market as of March 2024. Apple's share of the U.S. market has risen steadily since early 2012, when it accounted for around 30 percent. This growth is not reflected in all markets, however, with Apple's global share remaining stable year-on-year. Apple growing at home Under CEO Tim Cook, Apple has continued to follow a stunning growth trajectory. Apple became the first U.S. company with a market capitalization exceeding two trillion dollars, just two years on from becoming the first trillion-dollar company. The iPhone, responsible for much of the company’s growth, has cemented its status as the smartphone of choice for many Americans during recent quarters. Google's Android operating system is a close competitor in the U.S. OS market, accounting for around 47 percent of the market as of March 2024. However, Apple commands a far wider lead in the U.S. smartphone manufacturer market, with the Android user base split between various vendors such as Samsung and Motorola. Apple’s popularity across markets Apple has seen success with the iPhone in developed markets across the globe. iPhones accounted for four of the five most-sold handsets in the United Kingdom as of January 2024, and four of the leading five in Germany. Yet, the high price of Apple devices puts Apple at a disadvantage outside of wealthier markets. In Africa, iOS accounted for around 13 percent of the mobile OS market in November 2023, while Android dominated with an 85 percent share.

Apple held the largest slice of the global smartphone market by shipments during the fourth quarter of 2024, followed by Samsung. Xiaomi has taken a tight grip on the third position, accounting for a market share of 13 percent in the fourth quarter of 2024. 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 223.5 million units globally in 2024. Next to Samsung, Apple is a major manufacturer of smartphones worldwide, with the company shipping more than 228 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 80.5 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 42 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, Samsung and LG are the leading smartphone OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) in the United States as of March 2024. Apple holds the highest market share with 53.1 percent, a slight decrease from their share in January 2024.

Consistent growth in global smartphone users    

The number of smartphone users worldwide has consistently increased in recent years. This growth in smartphone users is forecast to continue, reaching over 7.5 billion by 2026. The coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak was forecasted to reduce the global smartphone unit shipments in 2020. At the end of 2020, it was possible to see that the number of smartphone units shipped in 2020 had decreased compared to previous years. However, smartphone shipment reached its peak in 2016 and has steadily declined since.

Apple obtains the top original equipment manufacturer (OEM) position as of the second quarter of 2024 with a majority of all smartphone shipments in the United States. Samsung and Levono ranked second and third, with 24 and 12 percent, respectively.

As of 2023, for the first time ever, Apple ranked as the market leader in the global smartphone market with a 20.1 percent share of all shipments. The tech giant retained the top title in 2024, with a share of nearly 19 percent of the global smartphone market. Samsung ranked second, holding 18 percent of the market share. Global smartphone market shareSamsung has seen its popularity steadily increase since it held just a 4.3 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 20 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, 23 percent of all smartphones new smartphones sold were iPhones. The iPhone generated considerable revenue for Apple with sales of the device amounting to over 200 billion U.S. dollars in their 2024 financial year.

The number of smartphone users in the United States was forecast to continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by in total 17.4 million users (+5.61 percent). After the fifteenth consecutive increasing year, the smartphone user base is estimated to reach 327.54 million users and therefore a new peak in 2029. Notably, the number of smartphone users of was continuously increasing over the past years.Smartphone users here are limited to internet users of any age using a smartphone. The shown figures have been derived from survey data that has been processed to estimate missing demographics.The shown data are an excerpt of Statista's Key Market Indicators (KMI). The KMI are a collection of primary and secondary indicators on the macro-economic, demographic and technological environment in up to 150 countries and regions worldwide. All indicators are sourced from international and national statistical offices, trade associations and the trade press and they are processed to generate comparable data sets (see supplementary notes under details for more information).Find more key insights for the number of smartphone users in countries like Mexico and Canada.

In March 2024, Samsung was the brand with the highest market share in South America, accounting for over 36.5 percent of the smartphone web traffic in the region. It was followed by Motorola, at around 17.3 percent.

Since 2016 Samsung has been the bestselling smartphone brand in Latin America with a market share of over 35 percent. In 2023, Motorola ranked second with a market share worth 22 percent. In the global ranking, Samsung is first, followed by Apple.

In the United States, Apple has been the leading mobile device vendor since 2010. In 2024, the company owned over 56 percent of the market. Samsung's market share increased during that period, peaking at roughly 29 percent in 2022, before declining to 23.72 percent in 2024.

Apple is and has been the market leader in North America from 2011 to 2023. In 2023, Apple obtained a 56 percent share of the smartphone market in North America. Samsung ranked second with 23 percent in the same year.

In the first quarter of 2023, Samsung had a 41.7 percent share of the smartphone market in Latin America, based on shipments. It was followed by Motorola, accounting for 20 percent of the smartphone market in the region.

Increase and distribution in Latin America

While smartphone penetration in the region was forecast to continue to increase – reaching a share of 81 percent by 2025 – the presence of these devices across Latin America is not homogenous. The most populated nations were also the ones with the largest numbers of smartphone owners: Brazil and Mexico had around 155 million and 81 million users, respectively. However, the penetration rates vary from country to country. For instance, two out of five Bolivians owned a smartphone, whereas more than four out of five Chileans had this type of gadget.

A traditional pioneer in mobile telecommunications

Since 1993, the cityscape of the capital of Chile, Santiago, features an iconic building shaped after a cell phone. The Andean country makes justice to this postcard classic by featuring the highest and yet growing smartphone penetration in Latin America. In 2015, less than 11 percent of Chileans used this device. Ten years later, the share is forecast to surpass 88 percent. Chile was estimated to be home to nearly 13 million smartphone owners in 2022, indicating a continued interest of its consumers in mobile technology.

Apple is and has been the market leader in North America between throughout the given period from 2011 to 2020. In 2020, they reached 50 percent of the North American market, which is the highest market share they have had. Samsung's market share has fluctuated, but has since 2015 stayed between 24 and 26 percent.

The forecast released in January 2022 anticipated a 1.7 billion U.S. dollar increase in the sales value of smartphones sold in the United States, for a total of 74.7 billion U.S. dollars in sales.

Apple and Samsung lead U.S. smartphone market    

Apple and Samsung are the leading smartphone vendors in the United States with a combined sales market share of close to 70 percent. Both companies have witnessed increasing market shares in recent years, although Samsung’s market share decreased in 2019. Together, the leading smartphone brands are used by around 75 percent of smartphone users in the United States.

Higher smartphone usage in urban areas and high-income groups    

Smartphone penetration in the United States varies according to location. Compared to rural areas, smartphone usage in urban and suburban areas is higher by over ten percent (195003). Smartphone penetration also correlates with income as higher income groups have larger smartphone penetration rates . Overall, the trend over the past years seems to be that the growth in penetration is somewhat the same over the different groups but that the adoption level of smartphones was initially higher with urban groups and higher income groups when smartphones first hit the market. This could be as a result of the high initial price of smartphones- only people with higher incomes could afford them, and the higher demand for network coverage in urban areas due to there being more smartphone users.

As of March 2024, Xiaomi was the Chinese brand with the highest market share in South America, accounting for 14.63 percent of the smartphone web traffic in the region. It was followed by Huawei, with a market share of almost two percent. Among all smartphone brands, Samsung was the strongest with nearly 46 percent share of the traffic.

iOS and Android, Apple's and Google's respective operating systems, were the mobile OS market leaders in the United States in recent years, making up almost 100 percent of the market. The market share of both iOS and Android has remained relatively constant over the past 12 months at or around 60 percent and 40 percent, respectively.

Apple claimed a 17.7 percent share of the market in the second quarter of 2024, an increase from the previous quarter. Apple's long time competitor, Samsung, ranked first with a market share of 18.3 percent. Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the smartphone market Apple has been amongst the top five smartphone vendors in the world since 2009. With the decline of former market leaders Nokia and RIM, Apple and Samsung were able to grow their presence in the market. As a result of political pressure, tariffs and restrictions imposed by the U.S, Chinese manufacturer Huawei has recently dropped off of the top five list in the smartphone market, while Xiaomi, Oppo, and Transsion have gained ground. Coronavirus (COVD-19) pandemic impact on iPhone sales While the long-term impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on sale is difficult to determine, the immediate impact was quickly visible. While large quarterly fluctuations are normal for Apple’s revenue cycle, one must look back to 2017 to find two consecutive quarters in which Apple generated less than 30 billion U.S. dollars in revenue from the iPhone. A less strong performance in the first quarter of 2024, lead by the iPhone 16, gave Apple the second spot in terms of quarterly global unit shipments after Samsung, although strong sales in the fourth quarter of every year is a common occurrence with Apple products.