Apple becomes world’s top smartphone brand, leaving Samsung behind after 14 years

Updated: 12-01-2026, 08.22 PM

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Tech giant Apple has achieved the status of becoming the world’s largest smartphone brand, leaving Samsung behind after 14 years.
Counterpoint Research According to the report, in 2025, Apple will achieve the first position with 20 percent global market share. The tremendous demand for the iPhone 17 series in 2025 and strong sales in major markets of Asia have given Apple this lead.

Strength from iPhone 17 and Asian markets

According to the report, Apple’s annual growth was 10 percent, which is the highest among the top five smartphone brands last year. The sales performance of the iPhone 17 series, launched in September 2025, was excellent. Apart from this, strong sales of iPhone 16 in India, Japan and South-East Asia have also played an important role. In the last quarter of 2025, Apple achieved the largest quarterly market share ever.

Samsung slipped to second place

Samsung stood second with about 19 percent market share in 2025. The company got a growth of 5 percent due to Galaxy S25 series, Galaxy Z Fold 7 and A series. However, Samsung has faced pressure due to weak demand in Latin America and Western Europe. The company has offset the loss to some extent with better performance in Japan and its core markets.

Position of Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo in top-5

Among the remaining top-5 brands, Xiaomi remained at third position with 13 percent market share. It benefited from strong demand in emerging markets and premium strategy, which kept shipments stable. Vivo has also registered a growth of 3 percent. At the same time, despite improvement in India and MEA, Oppo has faced an overall decline of 4 percent due to tough competition in China and Asia-Pacific.