Perhaps more surprisingly (and painfully) than losing an overall regional battle it never stood a chance to win, Samsung also yielded the title in the sub-$300 segment to a somewhat unexpected challenger.
New record unlocked
You know how the Chinese and Indian smartphone markets are so evenly contested that it's almost impossible to predict what brand will come out on top each quarter? The US market is... nothing like that, with Apple claiming an incredible 69 percent of all sales in the nation between October and December 2025.
That's nearly seven in ten mobile devices, mind you, which is simply staggering, and unsurprisingly, a new all-time record, improving Apple's already outstanding 65 percent share from Q4 2024 on the back of strong demand for the iPhone 17 family and the inexpensive iPhone 16e, but also major weaknesses exhibited by Samsung.
Apple's number is so big that Counterpoint Research doesn't even bother listing the third biggest player in the US.
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Galaxy handsets, of course, still came in second place stateside in Q4 2025, although their modest 13 percent market share can certainly not be viewed as a triumph by the former number one smartphone vendor of the world by any measure of the word.
Samsung was practically irrelevant at the nation's biggest wireless service providers, with AT&T customers in particular favoring iPhones over all other devices to give Apple an astounding 89 percent share of the carrier's year-ending smartphone sales.
What kind of phone do you plan on buying next?
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the iPhone 17 Pro Max was the most popular model at all three of America's top mobile network operators, while the iPhone 16e crucially contributed to the expansion of the otherwise minor mid-range segment ($300 to $600).
Motorola is the new king of low-cost handsets
While mid-range sales grew in the US by 27 percent year-on-year thanks primarily to the aforementioned iPhone 16e, as well as Google's Pixel 9a, Motorola managed to outshine Samsung as far as ultra-affordable smartphones are concerned due to the "strategically" early release and immediate success of the Moto G Play (2026) and Moto G 5G (2026).
It obviously remains to be seen if Motorola will be able to retain this advantage as the two new members of the Moto G family start to grow older and the Galaxy A17 5G perhaps becomes more appealing, but for the time being, this is definitely a huge achievement for Moto and another bitter defeat for Samsung.
The Moto G Play (2026) just so happens to look very good at first glance for an ultra-low-cost smartphone. | Image Credit -- PhoneArena
On the whole, the sub-$300 division dominated by Motorola became even weaker in Q4 2025, shrinking by 7 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, and with skyrocketing memory prices, low-cost phones are in a world of trouble going forward as they will either have to become more expensive or skimp on crucial upgrades. Or both.
The premium (aka $600 and above) segment, meanwhile, was hurt by both the surging popularity of mid-rangers and poor performance of the costliest Androids around, staying flat year-on-year and contributing to the modest 1 percent increase in total smartphone sales estimated by Counterpoint Research for the US market.
What's on the horizon?
Clearly, another year (or ten) of crushing Apple domination. That's not just what I'm predicting, of course, but all professional analysts and data crunchers as well.
This is apparently the upcoming Pixel 10a and not the existing Pixel 9a.
What will be more interesting to see, however, is the evolution of the mid-range price band,https://counterpointresearch.com/en/insights/q4-2025-apple-share-grows-to-historic-levels-as-us-smartphone-market-up-1-yoywhich could continue to grow as sub-$300 devices move out of that category due to rising production costs and as "premium" phones become less and less attractive due to inflation and the region's "uncertain" macroeconomic situation.
The problem with that is the Pixel 10a doesn't look capable of eating away at the appeal of the rest of the Pixel 10 family, which means the segment's growth could rely almost entirely on the mainstream success of the undoubtedly fast-approaching iPhone 17e.
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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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