Hyderabad: The global smartphone market reportedly grew 1 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in Q1 2025. According to the latest research from Canalys, Samsung took the global lead with a 20 per cent market share, followed closely by Apple with an 18 per cent share.
According to Amber Liu, Research Manager at Canalys, Q1 2025 proved more volatile than expected for the smartphone market. “Following a strong finish to 2024, vendors pushed high inventory volumes into channels to gain share. But slower-than-expected sell-through extended inventory cycles, dampening sell-in momentum in early 2025," Liu said.
Liu further said that escalating global trade tensions are creating fresh uncertainties for smartphone vendors in 2025, with companies like Apple, Samsung, and Lenovo already dealing with weaker domestic demand in the US. With the looming threat of increased operational costs due to impending tariffs, Apple front-loaded shipments in early April, pulling forward Q2 inventory to mitigate potential cost hikes
Sanyam Chaurasia, Senior Analyst at Canalys, believes that global macroeconomic challenges made the consumer cautious, which in turn muted the typical seasonal uplift in the first quarter of the year 2025. He said that even festive periods in key markets, such as Ramadan, delivered softer demand than what the industry expected.
"In response to a more gradual recovery in volume, vendors are prioritising profitability while remaining active and flexible with market investments," Chaurasia said. "Tactics include dynamic channel incentive schemes to encourage sell-in, collaborations with distributors to expand financing in emerging markets and agile channel pricing strategies to strike a balance between overall profitability and price competitiveness."
Top Smartphone Companies in the World by Market Share
As already mentioned, Samsung leads the market in Q1 2025 with a 20 per cent market share. The South Korean giant was also the market leader in Q1 2024 with the same market share. This means Samsung did not register any major growth or decline this quarter compared to the same period last year.
Meanwhile, Apple registered a year-on-year growth of 2 per cent in Q1 2025, retaining its position as the second biggest smartphone vendor in the world.
Xiaomi came third with 14 per cent market share in Q1 2025. The Chinese smartphone company was also the third largest smartphone company by market share in Q1 2024 with 14 per cent market share.
Vivo and Oppo both claimed 8 per cent market, claiming fourth and fifth positions on the ladder. While Oppo did not witness any significant year-on-year growth, Vivo climbed the ladder by a point with 1 per cent growth over Q1 2024. Notably, Oppo share also includes OnePlus.
| Vendor | Q1 2025 Market Share | Q1 2024 Market Share |
|---|---|---|
| Samsung | 20% | 20% |
| Apple | 18% | 16% |
| Xiaomi | 14% | 14% |
| vivo | 8% | 7% |
| OPPO | 8% | 8% |
| Others | 32% | 34% |
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