The World’s Best-Selling iPhone Model

According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, the iPhone 16 was the best-selling smartphone worldwide in Q1 2025, while Samsung’s Galaxy S25 Ultra ranked 7th. The top four positions remained unchanged from the previous year, all occupied by iPhone models, and Apple had five devices in the top 10 best-selling smartphones for this quarter.

Specifically, the iPhone 16 performed well in Japan, where improved economic conditions and revised subsidy regulations encouraged users to upgrade. It also saw strong sales in the Middle East and Africa. The next two spots in the top 10 were taken by the iPhone 16 Pro Max and iPhone 16 Pro. While the iPhone Pro line faced challenges in China due to prices exceeding government subsidy limits and competition from brands like Huawei, it still accounted for nearly 50% of total iPhone sales in Q1.

Ranking 4th on the list was the iPhone 15, with the iPhone 16 Plus in 10th place. Notably, the iPhone 16e made an impressive debut, ranking 6th among the top 10 best-selling smartphones in March and is expected to outperform its predecessor, the iPhone SE 2022, despite being more expensive, thanks to significant hardware and feature improvements. As for Samsung, the Galaxy S25 Ultra ranked 7th, dropping two places from the S24 Ultra in the same period last year, mainly due to the later release of the S25 Ultra. However, the S25 series still brought stable revenue, contributing about 25% of Samsung’s total sales in March. With the deep integration of Google’s Gemini AI platform, the S25 series marks Samsung’s shift towards a smarter AI experience, offering increased personalization for users.

Also from Samsung, the Galaxy A16 5G ranked 5th, up one place from its predecessor in the same period last year, with sales of this model increasing by 17% due to wider distribution in regions such as North America, the largest market for the A16 5G, accounting for one-third of its global sales. The 6th position in the top 10 was occupied by the Galaxy A06, up four places from the Galaxy A05 in Q1/2024. Counterpoint Research attributed this growth to the increased demand for affordable smartphones in many regions.

The only representative of Xiaomi in the top 10 smartphones for Q1 was the Redmi 14C 4G, with a 43% increase in sales compared to the previous year, mostly from emerging markets such as the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Overall, the market share of the top ten leading smartphones remained stable. However, affordable devices occupied four positions, a slight increase from three devices in the same period last year, and the affordable smartphone segment was the fastest-growing in Q1, accounting for nearly 20% of global smartphone sales.