Last year, Apple topped the list of best-selling phones, increasing its numbers by 10%, and becoming the best-selling brand. 1 in 5 people who bought a smartphone during that period did so by opting for an iPhone.
This is something curious, since we are not only talking about sales, but also about gifts from companies, financing, packs, etc., where Xiaomi or Samsung have a lot of strength, since the iPhone, either you buy them directly, or it is more complicated for no one to give them to you, since they do not have economical versions that can adapt to everyone.
How many iPhones were sold in 2025?
In 2025, Apple ended up being the brand that sold the most mobile phones in the world. It is not something that happens every year by any means, but this time the iPhone ended up ahead of the rest, including Samsung, which is usually up there almost always, due, above all, as we said, to having a wider range, which favors the sale of phones to people who are looking for something economical.
It wasn't a huge difference or a radical change, but it was enough to put Apple in first place. And that has a lot to do with the fact that the iPhone continues to be a very stable product: it does not need to reinvent itself every year to continue selling well. Many people change their mobile phone and choose iPhone again almost out of inertia, despite the fact that they also have a long life, which means they need to be renewed more often, and that harms, in a way, massive annual sales.
It also influences that Apple is already established in many key countries. Furthermore, in other markets where it did not have such a presence before, it has been growing little by little, getting more people to end up switching to the apple, or at least giving it a chance. It is not something explosive, but the trend is good for the company.
Meanwhile, other brands have had a more uneven year. Samsung continues to sell a lot, but it no longer dominates as clearly as before. Xiaomi and other Chinese brands continue to grow, but they still do not reach the global level that Apple has when all countries are added.
The curious thing is that this does not mean that everyone has an iPhone, far from it. It simply means that, counting all the mobile phones sold during the year, the iPhone was the one that sold the most. It's a specific photo of 2025, not something guaranteed forever, so It doesn't mean that 20% of the people you meet on the street will have one..
In fact, the mobile market is quite stagnant compared to years ago. People change phones less and extend their use more over time. In that context, coming first has even more merit, because it is not like mobile phones are being sold like before.
So, without big headlines or dramas, 2025 was one of those years in which Apple managed to place itself at the top. Not because he did something spectacular, but because his formula continues to work and many people continue to trust in the same old thing. Is it because of the iPhone 16e? The new Air? We will see it in 2026, and we will draw better conclusions, checking if it was a year of chance, or a trend.
