Global installed base of active smartphones grew 2% in 2025; eight OEMs had 200M+ active devices each, and nearly one in four active smartphones is an iPhone
Tarun is a Research Director with Counterpoint Research, based out of Gurgaon (near New Delhi).
Context & Ripple Effects
The installed-base result follows a year in which global smartphone shipments also rose 2%, while Apple led shipments with 20% share and faster growth than Samsung. That makes the active-device count a useful complement to the 2025 shipment-share picture, rather than a standalone measure of annual sales.
Apple’s installed-base position has been building across cycles: it reported more than 900 million active iPhones in 2018, and its India shipments reached a record 9% share in 2025. The latest reading places that accumulation in a global market where eight manufacturers now operate at major scale.
First-order effects
- Apple now has an active iPhone footprint approaching one-quarter of the global smartphone base, expanding the immediately addressable audience tied to its handset ecosystem.
- Eight OEMs with more than 200 million active devices each have enough installed scale for retention, service and upgrade strategies to matter alongside new-device sales.
Second-order effects
- With the global active base growing only 2%, OEMs face a more mature replacement market: keeping current users and raising value per active device become more consequential competitive levers.
- Apple’s strong installed-base share raises the benchmark for rivals seeking to translate shipment gains into durable active-device populations; Apple’s record India shipment share is one recent contributor to that dynamic.
Third-order effects
- If active-base growth remains modest, smartphone competition is likely to be judged increasingly by recurring revenue and engagement per device, not shipment share alone.
- The concentration of very large active fleets could strengthen ecosystem advantages for leading OEMs, though the data does not establish how successfully each company monetizes or retains those users.
The trend: The smartphone market is shifting from a volume-led hardware contest toward competition for large, monetizable installed bases and their replacement cycles.