Every year, one number gets more attention in the smartphone industry than almost any other: who sold the most phones. For 2025, the source behind almost every “best-selling phones” list online is Counterpoint Research, which runs a Global Handset Model Sales Tracker that estimates monthly sales for individual phone models worldwide [1].
This matters well beyond the United States and South Korea, where the top brands are based. Budget and mid-range phones on this list are the daily devices for hundreds of millions of people across Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Latin America. Knowing which models actually sell in volume, and why, says a lot about affordability, network coverage, and what “a good phone” means in different economies.
The confirmed top 10 of 2025
Counterpoint’s year-end release confirms that Apple’s iPhone 16 was the best-selling smartphone globally in 2025, with Apple and Samsung dominating the top 10 for the fourth consecutive year and jointly accounting for 19 percent of overall smartphone sales. Apple took seven of the ten spots, Samsung the remaining three [1, 9, 10].
The confirmed ranking, matched across multiple independent reports of the same Counterpoint data, is:
| Rank | Model | Maker |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | iPhone 16 | Apple |
| 2 | iPhone 16 Pro Max | Apple |
| 3 | iPhone 16 Pro | Apple |
| 4 | iPhone 17 Pro Max | Apple |
| 5 | Galaxy A16 5G | Samsung |
| 6 | Galaxy A06 4G | Samsung |
| 7 | iPhone 17 | Apple |
| 8 | iPhone 15 | Apple |
| 9 | Galaxy S25 Ultra | Samsung |
| 10 | iPhone 16e | Apple |
Source: Counterpoint Research, as reported by [1, 9, 10].
This is an unusual mix. It combines a full year of sales from an older generation (the iPhone 16 family) with a phone that only launched in September (the iPhone 17 Pro Max), showing how a strong launch quarter can outsell devices that were on shelves all year.
Why the iPhone 17 line climbed so fast:
- The iPhone 17 series sold 16 percent more than its predecessor in its first full quarter, driven by demand in the US, China, and Western Europe [1].
- The base iPhone 17 was the standout performer of the whole year, posting the highest growth of any model [1].
- Key upgrades credited for this: a 120Hz refresh rate (up from 60Hz) and 256GB base storage (up from 128GB) [1].
- The cheaper iPhone 16e, launched in spring 2025 from 599 US dollars, added further volume by widening Apple’s entry point into its ecosystem [1].
Where Samsung’s volume actually comes from
Samsung’s three spots on the list tell a different story from Apple’s. Instead of flagship phones, they’re budget devices built for high-volume, price-sensitive markets.
- Galaxy A16 5G (5th): Became the best-selling Android smartphone of 2025, even though the early launch of its successor, the Galaxy A17 5G, slightly cut into its sales [1].
- Galaxy A06 4G (6th) and the wider Galaxy A-series: These keep Samsung competitive in Latin America, the Middle East, and Africa, where many buyers still choose 4G over 5G for reasons of network coverage and price. Earlier in the year, the Galaxy A16 4G also climbed sharply into the quarterly top 10 on the strength of demand in these same regions [5].
- Galaxy S25 Ultra (9th): Samsung’s only flagship on the list, holding a top-10 spot for a second straight year. It grew more than three times year-over-year in Japan and posted double-digit growth in India [1].
The rest of the top 25: what’s confirmed and what isn’t
Counterpoint’s publicly reported 2025 rankings stop at the top 10 and are expressed mainly as market share percentages and rank order, not exact unit counts. A specific figure like “45.1 million units” for a single model has not been published in Counterpoint’s public release, and no other verifiable source could confirm exact unit totals for models ranked 11 and beyond, including names like the Galaxy A36 5G, Galaxy A56 5G, Redmi 14C 4G, Redmi A5, and various Oppo and vivo entries.
That doesn’t mean those phones are not big sellers. What can and cannot be confirmed:
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| iPhone 16 was the single best-selling model of 2025 | Confirmed [1, 9, 10] |
| Apple took 7 of the top 10 spots | Confirmed [1, 9, 10] |
| Galaxy A16 5G was Android’s best-selling model of 2025 | Confirmed [1] |
| Redmi 14C 4G sells strongly in Latin America and the Middle East/Africa | Confirmed, though its exact 2025 annual rank is not published [5] |
| Exact unit-sales figures (in millions) for every model, ranks 1 through 25 | Unverified. Not published by Counterpoint; treat as third-party estimates |
| A full, officially confirmed top 25 ranking exists | Unverified. Public data only confirms the top 10 |
Readers in Africa and Asia in particular should be cautious of viral “best-selling phones” graphics that attach very precise numbers to every position. These are often estimates dressed up as hard data.
It’s also worth noting that no Chinese brand cracked the confirmed top 10 for the full year, even though the Redmi 14C 4G appeared in quarterly top 10 lists earlier in 2025 [2, 5]. This doesn’t mean Chinese brands sold poorly. Xiaomi, Oppo, Transsion-owned brands like Tecno and Infinix, and vivo still lead in total shipment volume across many African and South Asian markets when measured by brand rather than by individual model, since their lineups are split across far more model variants than Apple’s.
The bigger pattern: premium phones are pulling ahead
Four of the top five best-selling individual models in 2025 were Pro-tier or flagship-tier iPhones, a concentration that would have looked unusual a decade ago when mid-range and budget phones from a wider mix of brands filled out the top 10.
Counterpoint expects this trend to continue rather than reverse, forecasting that premium flagship devices will grow their presence in 2026 as rising memory prices hit entry-to-mid-segment devices harder [1]. This could mean tighter margins or rising prices for budget phone makers, a development that would matter directly to price-sensitive buyers across Africa and South Asia.
The forecast already looks accurate. Later Counterpoint data showed the iPhone 17 taking over as the world’s best-selling smartphone in the second quarter of 2026, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Pro right behind it, extending Apple’s dominance into the following year [7].
What this means for buyers outside the US and Korea
This list is less a buying guide and more a snapshot of two markets operating side by side:
- The premium market: Built around iPhones and Galaxy flagships, driven by upgrade cycles, camera performance, and brand ecosystems.
- The value market: Built around affordable 4G and entry 5G Android phones, where price, battery life, repairability, and network compatibility matter more than the newest chip or refresh rate.
Both markets feed into the same global ranking. That’s exactly why a nearly two-year-old base iPhone can sit at the top of the list, a three-month-old flagship can sit fourth, and a sub-150-dollar Samsung model can sit fifth, all at the same time.
This article is based on publicly available market research reports and news coverage current as of September 2026. Figures beyond the confirmed top 10 rankings, and any precise unit-sales numbers, could not be independently verified against the original source and should be treated as estimates. If you spot an error or have a correction, please get in touch so we can review and update this article.
References
- [1] iPhone 16 Tops List of World’s Best-Selling Smartphones in 2025, MacRumors
- [2] iPhone 16 was the world’s best-selling smartphone in Q1 2025, 9to5Mac
- [3] iPhone 16 Was World’s Best-Selling Smartphone in Q3 2025, MacRumors
- [4] iPhone 16 is The Best Selling Smartphone Globally in Q3 2025, AndroidHeadlines
- [5] Les 10 smartphones les plus vendus dans le monde au 2e trimestre 2025, Blog du Modérateur
- [6] Apple’s iPhone Tops the List for Highest Selling Smartphone in 2024, Smartprix
- [7] iPhone 17 Remains World’s Best Selling Smartphone, MacRumors
- [8] Q1 2025 Global Smartphone Sales, Top 10 Best Sellers, Counterpoint Research
- [9] Apple dominated 2025 best-selling smartphone rankings, Asymco
- [10] Market researchers: iPhone 16 is the world’s best-selling smartphone in 2025, Heise
