A new report by Counterpoint Research breaks down the installed base of global active smartphones in 2025, with the iPhone at the top. Here are the details.
Apple is approaching 25% of the global active smartphone base
According to Counterpoint research‘s Smartphone Installed Base Tracker, the total installed base of active smartphones grew just 2% in 2025, with Apple and Samsung alone accounting for 44% of that total.
The top 10 also includes Xiaomi, OPPO, vivo, Transsion, Huawei, Honor, Motorola, realme and Google, with only the last three still under 200 million active devices. Meanwhile, Honor was the only brand to surpass this mark in 2025.
Back at Apple, Counterpoint Research senior analyst Karn Chauhan noted that the company “added more new smart net devices than the next seven major OEMs combined,” which highlights its “ability to attract and retain users in a mature market.”
Chauhan added:
“Apple leads the global active installed base, with about one in four active smartphones being an iPhone. This is driven by strong user loyalty, a deep iOS ecosystem and tightly integrated services. (…) Samsung ranks second with about a fifth of the global active installed base. This is supported by its long-term market presence, a broad portfolio of entries in the broad pre-segment. key regions.”
And speaking of the premium segment, the report also noted that this remains a challenging space, as “six OEMs outside of Apple and Samsung held only a single-digit share of sales in the premium segment priced above $600 wholesale,” in 2025.
The report also notes that Apple and Samsung are the only two smartphone manufacturers to surpass one billion active devices globally.
As for why the overall market grew by just 2% for the year, Counterpoint Research noted that this was “driven by replacement cycles for new devices growing at nearly four years and a growing share of second-life devices in use.”
To learn more about the report, follow this link.
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