The iPhone plays a bigger role in the global smartphone market than ever before. New figures show that Apple will account for almost a quarter of all actively used smartphones in 2025. In a market that is growing only slowly overall, the balance of power is thus shifting further in favor of a few large manufacturers.
This assessment is based on the latest Smartphone Installed Base Tracker from Counterpoint Research. The report analyzes how the world's active smartphones will be distributed across individual brands in 2025. The focus is not on sales figures for individual quarters, but rather on devices that are actually being actively used. This perspective clearly demonstrates just how dominant Apple has become with the iPhone.
Apple reaches almost 25 percent of all active smartphones
According to Counterpoint Research, the total number of active smartphones worldwide will have grown by only 2 percent by 2025. Despite this low growth, Apple and Samsung together account for 44 percent of all active devices.
Apple clearly leads the rankings. Roughly one in four active smartphones worldwide is an iPhone. This puts Apple well ahead of all other manufacturers and solidifies its leading position within the global installed base.
The top 10 manufacturers at a glance
Besides Apple and Samsung, Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, Transsion, Huawei, Honor, Motorola, realme, and Google are also among the ten largest smartphone brands worldwide. Most of these providers still have fewer than 200 million active devices.
Honor is an exception here. In 2025, the company was the only brand to surpass this threshold. Motorola, realme, and Google, on the other hand, remained below 200 million active smartphones.
Why the iPhone continues to gain ground
Karn Chauhan, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint Research, points out that Apple has added more new smartphones to its active user base than the next seven leading OEMs combined. This is seen as a clear indication of how successfully Apple is acquiring new users and retaining existing ones in a largely saturated market.
The report cites strong user loyalty, the tightly integrated iOS ecosystem, and Apple's deeply integrated services as key reasons. These factors ensure that many users remain with the iPhone long-term and are less likely to switch to other platforms.
Samsung in second place, premium market remains tight
Samsung ranks second with roughly one-fifth of the world's active smartphones. The company's position is supported by a long market presence, a very broad device portfolio ranging from entry-level to premium segments, and strong geographic coverage in key regions.
However, competition remains limited in the premium segment itself. According to the report, in 2025 only Apple and Samsung generated significant revenue from smartphones with wholesale prices exceeding $600. Six other OEMs each achieved only a single-digit revenue share in this segment.
It is also noteworthy that Apple and Samsung are the only smartphone manufacturers to have each sold more than one billion active devices worldwide.
Reasons for weak market growth
The report explains the slow growth of the overall market with two key developments. First, the replacement cycles for new smartphones are lengthening significantly. Devices are now used for an average of almost four years. Second, the proportion of smartphones already in use for the second time continues to rise. Both factors are noticeably slowing sales of new devices.
iPhone achieves global top position in the smartphone market
By 2025, the iPhone will account for almost a quarter of all active smartphones worldwide, thus assuming a dominant role in the market. While overall growth is weak, Apple and Samsung in particular benefit from high brand loyalty and strong ecosystems. The report from Counterpoint Research makes it clear that the balance of power in the smartphone market is becoming increasingly concentrated, with the iPhone playing a central role. (Image: Shutterstock / Dontree_M)
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