Apple secured the top position in global smartphone sales during the first quarter of 2025.

This was driven by the launch of the iPhone 16e and strong demand in markets such as Japan and India, according to Counterpoint Research.

The company captured 19% of the market share, slightly ahead of Samsung, which held 18% despite robust performance in emerging markets, Apple’s sales in the US, Europe, and China remained flat or declined.

In China, competition from local brands like Huawei and limited AI features in Apple’s devices impacted its performance.

🔗 Source: Reuters

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Emerging markets become Apple’s strategic lifeline

Apple’s global leadership demonstrates a successful pivot to emerging markets as mature regions stagnate.

While experiencing flat or declining sales in the US, Europe, and China, Apple has strategically shifted focus to countries like India that drove its 19% market share 1.

This follows a multi-year effort to penetrate emerging economies, including negotiations with the Indian government to manufacture iPhones locally and a $44 million investment in an Indonesian R&D center 2.

The company’s ability to maintain premium pricing while growing in cost-sensitive markets contradicts early concerns—in 2016, analysts noted 80% of Indian smartphones sold for under $150, compared to Apple’s $618 average selling price 2.

This strategic reorientation helps explain how Apple achieved the top global position despite well-documented struggles in China, where its shipments dropped by 17% year-on-year to 42.9 million units in 2024 3.

2️⃣ Tariff threats reshape smartphone supply chains

International trade tensions are directly influencing smartphone production and distribution decisions.

Apple chartered cargo flights to transport approximately 1.5 million iPhones (600 tons) from India to the United States specifically to sidestep potential tariffs before they could take effect 4.

This proactive measure reflects how geopolitical uncertainty is forcing manufacturers to make rapid supply chain adjustments—a pattern confirmed by IDC’s report that the 1.5% growth in global smartphone shipments was partly driven by companies accelerating production in anticipation of tariff announcements 5.