Apple iPhone 16 became the most popular smartphone of the year, Samsung is not far behind, and Xiaomi barely made it into the ranking

The world of smartphones is changing dynamically almost every day manufacturers announce new modelsare better than their predecessors. However, only two companies hold the leadership in this market: Apple and Samsung. Devices from these two manufacturers occupy most of the positions in the TOP-10 most popular smartphones in the first quarter of 2025. This is evidenced by the following research data Counterpoint Research. According to the company’s analysts, the undisputed winner of this rating is iPhone 16. And all three leaders are Apple products.

According to a report by Counterpoint Research, based on sales in the first quarter of 2025, Apple and Samsung once again shared almost the entire TOP 10. Nine out of ten best-selling models belong to these two brands. The only other company that managed to get into the ranking was Xiaomi. But only with one model.

Thus, most buyers chose the basic iPhone 16 — model, and this is the first return of the «regular» iPhone to the top of the ranking since 2023. The smartphone sold particularly well in the Middle East and Africa region, as well as in Japan, where it showed the highest growth in popularity.

The iPhone 16 Pro Max came in second place, and the iPhone 16 Pro took third. Together, the Pro series models accounted for almost half of all iPhone sales during this period.

The fourth position was taken by the iPhone 15, and Samsung’s most successful smartphone was the Galaxy A16 5G — it was ranked fifth.

The list is followed by the following models:

• 6th place — Galaxy A06,
• 7th place — Galaxy S25 Ultra (the only Samsung flagship in the top ten),
• 8th place — Redmi 14C by Xiaomi (the only model of another brand in the top),
• 9th place — Galaxy A55,
• 10th place — iPhone 16 Plus.

This ranking once again confirms that Apple knows how to keep people interested in its products, especially when it comes to the updated base model. We also see that Samsung maintains a strong position in the mid-range segment, and Xiaomi, although less prominent, still has its own stable audience.

Source: gsmarena