According to Counterpoint Research's Market Pulse Early Look, the global smartphone market has grown by 3% in Q1 2025. Even though there was some decline seen in developed markets, China saw some growth mostly because of government subsidies. Emerging markets like Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East also saw some recovery in their global smartphone market in Q1 2025. Ankit Malhotra, the senior research analyst at Counterpoint Research, said that mixed results were seen in 2025, with emerging markets showing better results because of better economic conditions and mature markets slowing down after recovering in 2024.
Global smartphone sales were strong in January because of subsidies in China and the release of the iPhone 16e and Samsung S25. But this momentum slowed down by the end of the quarter because of trade war risks and economic uncertainties. Overall, the market is predicted to decline YoY by 2025. Q1 of 2025 saw interesting competition among OEMs, with Apple being at the top spot mostly because of the launch of the iPhone 16e. Even though there were declining or flat sales in markets like Europe, the US, and China, there was double-digit growth of Apple in markets like the Middle East & Africa, Japan, Southeast Asia, and India.
The second top OEM was Samsung, with 18% of the market share. Even though Samsung sales slowed down at the beginning of the quarter, they picked up in March after the S25 series was launched. Xiaomi took the third spot and overall had strong momentum and good market share. It is also slowly growing in the premium segment, and its brand image has been boosted in China mostly due to its entry into electric vehicles.
The fastest growing brand among the top five smartphone brands was vivo, coming at number four, because of its growth in emerging markets and China and strong performance. It was followed by OPPO, which had good sales in Latin America, India, and Europe. Outside the top five, Huawei, HONOR, and Motorola are also growing fast and will probably have tough competition globally soon. Huawei took the number one spot as top selling brand in China in Q1 while HONOR and Motorola also saw growth in various markets. 2023 was tough but now the condition of the global smartphone market is improving because of better economic conditions, but it is still expected to decline by the end of 2025.
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Global smartphone sales were strong in January because of subsidies in China and the release of the iPhone 16e and Samsung S25. But this momentum slowed down by the end of the quarter because of trade war risks and economic uncertainties. Overall, the market is predicted to decline YoY by 2025. Q1 of 2025 saw interesting competition among OEMs, with Apple being at the top spot mostly because of the launch of the iPhone 16e. Even though there were declining or flat sales in markets like Europe, the US, and China, there was double-digit growth of Apple in markets like the Middle East & Africa, Japan, Southeast Asia, and India.
The second top OEM was Samsung, with 18% of the market share. Even though Samsung sales slowed down at the beginning of the quarter, they picked up in March after the S25 series was launched. Xiaomi took the third spot and overall had strong momentum and good market share. It is also slowly growing in the premium segment, and its brand image has been boosted in China mostly due to its entry into electric vehicles.
The fastest growing brand among the top five smartphone brands was vivo, coming at number four, because of its growth in emerging markets and China and strong performance. It was followed by OPPO, which had good sales in Latin America, India, and Europe. Outside the top five, Huawei, HONOR, and Motorola are also growing fast and will probably have tough competition globally soon. Huawei took the number one spot as top selling brand in China in Q1 while HONOR and Motorola also saw growth in various markets. 2023 was tough but now the condition of the global smartphone market is improving because of better economic conditions, but it is still expected to decline by the end of 2025.
| Brand | Q1 2023 Share | Q1 2024 Share | Q1 2025 Share | Year-over-Year Change (Q1 2025 vs Q1 2024) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple | 20% | 19% | 19% | +4% |
| Samsung | 21% | 20% | 18% | -5% |
| Xiaomi | 12% | 13% | 14% | +5% |
| vivo | 8% | 8% | 8% | +6% |
| OPPO | 10% | 8% | 8% | -1% |
| Others | 29% | 32% | 33% | +6% |
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