The iPhone 16 was the world's best-selling handset in 2025. | Image by PhoneArena
I think we've all seen those reports ranking the most popular smartphone models around the world at the beginning of each year, with the iPhone 16 coming out on top in the latest list put together by Counterpoint Research, but if you've ever wondered how the hierarchy looks for individual major regions like North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Middle East & Africa, well, it's time to find that out.
It's definitely no surprise to see the "vanilla" iPhone 16 be crowned the best-selling handset across North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific (excluding China) after the 6.1-incher topped the worldwide charts back in January, but intriguingly enough, the higher-end (and costlier) iPhone 16 Pro reigned supreme in China in 2025.
That's four big wins for Apple and two comparably humbler victories for Samsung. | Image by Counterpoint Research
That's a little surprising given that the world's largest smartphone market used to heavily favor affordable devices not that long ago, and believe it or not, a large number of Chinese buyers also picked the gargantuan iPhone 16 Pro Max and brand-new iPhone 17 Pro over the base iPhone 16.
In North America, meanwhile, the iPhone 16 was followed relatively closely by the iPhone 17 Pro Max in second place and the 16 Pro Max in third, which reveals a... pretty curious market dynamic that somehow favors both Apple's more affordable and pricier devices.
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What phone did you buy in 2025?
The iPhone 16 is virtually tied in first place with the 16 Pro in Europe while crushing the iPhone 15 and 16e in the Asia-Pacific region (sans China). That's right, the ancient iPhone 15 and the budget-friendly iPhone 16e are big in India and Japan, bringing their own crucial contributions to Apple's dominant global market share.
Samsung gets two trophies... but not with the models you might think
Yes, the world's number two smartphone vendor is the dominant force of the Latin America (LATAM) and Middle East & Africa (MEA) regions, where Apple actually has no devices among the top five.
Unfortunately for Samsung's profits, the Galaxy A06 4G and Galaxy A16 4G probably don't generate a ton of net gains per unit sold, and the same goes for the Galaxy A15 4G that's ranked third in Latin America.
The Galaxy S25 Ultra didn't exactly set the world on fire with its 2025 sales results. | Image by Counterpoint Research
What's got to be especially painful for Samsung is to see none of its 5G-enabled Android low-enders or mid-rangers ranked in any of these regional top fives, although that's probably nothing compared to the disappointment generated by the modest popularity of the high-end Galaxy S25 family.
Oddly enough, the S25 Ultra did find a spot among the world's ten best-selling smartphone models last year without making the top five list anywhere in the regions surveyed by Counterpoint for the purpose of today's report.
The "vanilla" Galaxy S25 instead managed to crack Europe's list of the most popular smartphones, placing right behind the iPhone 17, which... I don't think will translate to a similar result from the base Galaxy S26 this year.
How will this report look for 2026?
I obviously can't know that for sure (at least until I get my crystal ball back from the repair shop), but if I were to make a few (educated, I like to believe) guesses, I'd probably anticipate a bunch of wins for the iPhone 17 (most likely, in the same regions where the iPhone 16 prevailed in 2025) and the same difficulty for Samsung to connect with broad audiences as far as its most premium handsets are concerned.
That being said, I do expect the Galaxy S26 Ultra to outsell both the S25 Ultra and the "regular" Galaxy S25, which could help Samsung's latest S Pen-wielding giant to make one or two key regional top five lists this year.
Meanwhile, I don't think the first-gen iPhone Fold (or iPhone Ultra) will be able to earn a spot on any of these lists as early as 2026, but if it's true that Apple has no intention to release a "vanilla" iPhone 18 this year, the 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max could rank a lot higher than the 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max in North America, China, and even Europe with only a few months of commercial availability under their belts.
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Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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