During the first quarter of 2025, Apple's iPhone 16 was the best selling smartphone in the world, according to estimates provided by Counterpoint Research. After the iPhone 16, the iPhone 16 Pro Max, iPhone 16 Pro, and the iPhone 15 were the other top four smartphones. Samsung's Galaxy A16 5G took the fifth spot in the rankings.
Last year, it was Apple's Pro iPhone that was the best seller. In Q1 2024, the iPhone 15 Pro Max was the top selling smartphone, narrowly beating out the iPhone 15.
Apple has narrowed the gap between its standard smartphones and its Pro lineup in terms of performance and feature set. The iPhone 16 has an A18 chip that's almost as fast as the A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 Pro Max, and it also has the same Action button and Camera Control button.
Of the top 10 best selling smartphones in Q1 2025, Apple secured five of them. The top four, and then the 10th spot with the iPhone 16 Plus. Samsung's flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S25 Ultra, took the 7th spot, while the other smartphones on the list are lower cost options.
The $600+ iPhone 16e was only on sale for part of the quarter, but it did take the sixth spot in Counterpoint's top 10 list for March 2025, which was the first full month that it was available for purchase. The iPhone 16e is expected to sell better in its first year than the iPhone SE did during its first year thanks to its higher-end feature set.
Counterpoint's report focuses on rankings rather than unit sales, and while it does not break down sales by country, it does say that the iPhone 16 sold particularly well in Japan and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) market. In China, the iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max suffered because of government subsidies favoring lower-cost devices and competition from Chinese companies like Huawei.
