Q3 2025 Best-Selling Smartphones: Samsung and Apple Dominate Yet Again
The season has come for the sales reports to be released, giving us an understanding of who’s leading, who’s falling behind, and the phones people are truly purchasing. As with quarter,s Apple and Samsung remain the central figurs, in this narrative.
Apple & Samsung Rule the Top 10
The Q3 2025 rankings have been released, revealing a landscape dominated by two brands. Samsung and Apple have filled the leaderboard with each brand securing five models in the top 10. The divid, between these two and all other contenders continues to be substantial.
The iPhone 16 secured the title of the globe’s best-selling smartphone yet again. It captured 4% of the market share and retained its No.1 rank for the third consecutive quarter. Significant support came from discount offers during India’s season, which helped sustain its momentum despite the launch of the newer iPhone 17 series.
Interestingly, the path of all iPhones was not identical. The iPhone 16 Pro variants declined rapidly in areas such as the UK and the US where buyers rapidly moved on to the iPhone 17 lineup. However, due to that movement, the iPhone 17 Pro Max managed to secure the position, and by September 2025, it emerged as the top-selling phone worldwide despite having restricted availability.
An unexpected addition was the iPhone 16e, which surged into the 5. Evidently Apple’s budget-friendly devices attract an user base. Moreover for the instance in Q3 all phones, within the top 5 featured 5G highlighting how completely mainstream 5G has become.
Samsung’s Affordable Winners Make a Huge Impact
Following Apples grip, on the leading four spots Samsung surged to claim the segment of the ranking. And achieved this exclusively with Galaxy A-series models. No Galaxy S-series phone appeared in the top 10 on this occasion.
During the quarter the Galaxy A16 5G led as the selling Android device advancing its position compared to the previous year and surpassing its 4G version. Additionally the Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A56 are achieving sales boosted by quicker charging, extended software updates and Samsung’s latest Galaxy AI capabilities.
Two LTE variants. The Galaxy A16 4G and Galaxy A06. Also earned places in the 10. They remain sellers in regions like the Middle East, Africa and Latin America making up, over half of the combined units sold there.
The Actual Significance of the Figures
These graphs won’t instantly convince someone to change phones. They do indicate the direction of the market. With foldable sales figures (in which Samsung had another outstanding showing) Q3 presents a very distinct overview:
Samsung truly posted a quarter than anticipated by many and even surpassed Apple for the third consecutive quarter despite the significant buzz, around the iPhone 17 debut.
Is the A-Series Destined to Claim the Throne?
Some believe Samsung’s budget-friendly A-series devices are often overlooked. They provide value and clearly connect with customers in various markets. The S-series was absent from this quarter’s list ,partly because the S25 Ultra was released in Q1 and the market’s focus has already moved towards the anticipated S26 Ultra, which is expected shortly.
- So nothing shocking here — just a continuation of the pattern:
- Apple dominates the high-end segment.
- Samsung dominates sales with its A-series.
- And everyone else is simply trying to catch up.
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