The market numbers for the first quarter of 2025 are now in, from two of the leading market research firms, Counterpoint and IDC. Although the Q1 2025 report from Counterpoint crowns Apple with the most shipments globally, IDC’s report disagrees. It says that Samsung led the market. The report attributes the results to the success of the Galaxy S25 series, as well as the Galaxy A36 and A56.
Turns out Samsung led the Q1 2025 smartphone market, according to IDC
We can say it was a close call for Samsung and Apple. Traditionally, Samsung has been leading first-quarter shipments for a long time. Much of this is attributed to the January (and sometimes February) Unpacked event, where the flagship S series phones launch. However, Apple made some changes this year and launched the iPhone 16e. It’s what helped Apple rank first (according to Counterpoint) or second (according to IDC).
Now, let’s move on to the details of the IDC global smartphone market report. According to IDC, Samsung held 19.9% of the global market share, followed by Apple (19%), Xiaomi (13.7%), OPPO (7.7%), and vivo (7.4%) in Q1 2025. The smartphone market overall grew by 1.7%, despite tariff issues and ongoing US-China trade tensions.
“The U.S. smartphone market experienced growth of more than 5%, despite challenges from tariffs and trade wars affecting disposable income,” says IDC’s research director, Anthony Scarsella. According to Scarsella, the second-quarter (April-June) may see better sales number due to “recently announced 90-day pause on smartphone tariffs”. “Consumers might seize the opportunity to purchase before the possible reintroduction of tariffs that could drive prices up,” he adds.
Samsung may debut the Galaxy S25 Edge in May, which should help the company maintain strong sales globally again. It was previously expected to debut in April, but the event was reportedly called off. We’ll have to see what the market stats say and whether IDC and Counterpoint disagree again.
