Apple's iPhone 16 was the world's best-selling smartphone in 2025, followed by the 16 Pro Max and 16 Pro; Apple took 7 of the top 10 spots and Samsung took 3
- Apple and Samsung continued to capture the Top 10 spots. … - In terms of comparisons with predecessor models …
Context & Ripple Effects
The iPhone 16 had already led the global rankings in the first quarter of 2025, with its Pro Max and Pro variants close behind. The full-year result shows that early lead persisted across the product line.
Apple's seven top-10 positions repeat the same concentration it achieved in the 2023 global bestseller ranking, while Samsung remains the only other manufacturer represented in the 2025 top 10.
First-order effects
- Apple's iPhone 16 family occupies the top three global bestseller positions for 2025, reinforcing the commercial weight of its base, Pro, and Pro Max tiers.
- Samsung takes the remaining three top-10 positions, leaving the year's bestselling-device table entirely controlled by the two companies.
Second-order effects
- The result strengthens Apple's leverage to keep promoting higher-tier iPhones alongside the standard model, consistent with the earlier rise in Pro-model sales reported in 2024.
- Other handset makers face a clearer distribution and product-positioning challenge: none placed a device among the global top 10, while Apple and Samsung retain the visibility and retail pull attached to those slots.
Third-order effects
- If this pattern persists, global smartphone demand will be increasingly defined by a small number of flagship and mass-market device families rather than a broad set of manufacturers.
- The top-10 table also suggests that scale in brand, channel reach, and portfolio coverage remains difficult for smaller vendors to dislodge, though rankings alone do not establish their profitability or regional strength.
The trend: Global smartphone bestseller rankings are consolidating around Apple’s multi-tier iPhone lineup and Samsung’s remaining mass-market and premium footholds.