Samsung's sold even more phones in 2025, but that wasn't enough

Samsung was the world’s biggest smartphone brand for 13 consecutive years, an incredible feat by any measure. Even in 2025, the company sold more phones than it did the previous year. However, that growth wasn’t enough to stop Apple from overtaking Samsung as the world’s largest smartphone brand.

According to data from the International Data Corporation (IDC), Samsung shipped 241.2 million smartphones in 2025, a 7.9% increase over 2024. In comparison, Apple shipped 247.8 million iPhones last year, marking a 6.3% year-over-year increase. This performance helped Apple surpass Samsung and claim the top spot in global smartphone sales.

Interestingly, Apple and Samsung were the top two brands in terms of sales growth. Combined, their market share increased from 35% to 37% in 2025. Samsung’s strong performance was driven by Galaxy A series smartphones and the Galaxy Z Fold 7. A recent report also revealed that the Galaxy S25 has been performing well, with sales picking up later in its lifecycle.

Xiaomi’s smartphone sales declined compared to last year, placing it a distant third with a market share of 13.7%. While Vivo’s sales increased year over year, its market share remained unchanged at 8.2% in 2025. OPPO, meanwhile, saw its smartphone shipments decline by 2.7% last year to 102 million units.

Looking ahead to 2026, IDC expects global smartphone sales to decline due to an ongoing severe memory shortage. Due to an explosive rise in demand for memory chips for AI data centres, memory chip makers like Micron, Samsung, and SK Hynix have increased the prices of memory chips significantly, which could force brands to increase the prices of their phones. This could mean people might not buy as many smartphones as last year.

Ryan Reith, Group Vice President for IDC’s Worldwide Client Devices division, said that larger smartphone brands are better positioned to weather the situation, as they can secure memory chips more easily and negotiate better pricing than smaller rivals. This places Samsung at an advantage compared to many Chinese smartphone brands.