Global premium smartphone market with all-time high-pixels grows the strongest

The premium smartphone market reached a new highlight in the first half of 2025. According to data from the market researcher Counterpoint Research Growing the worldwide sales of premium smartphones (devices over $ 600) grew by eight percent during this period compared to the same period in the previous year and ever reached the highest value for a first half of the year. It should be noted that few manufacturers introduce their premium devices in the first half of the year, while companies such as Apple and Google choose the second half of the year for the market launch of their top models.

Apple dominates the premium segment

The most successful manufacturer in the premium segment is not surprisingly Apple with a lion’s share of 62 percent, with delivery only increasing by three percent. Compared to the previous year, Apple’s share in the Premium smartphones market fell from 65 percent to 62 percent.

The runner -up in the segment of over 600 dollar -expensive smartphones is Samsung. The manufacturer claimed its place with a 20 percent share. Samsung was able to grow by seven percent in the first half of the year, which should be related to the market launch of the top models of the Galaxy-S25 series.

Huawei and Xiaomi also recorded a greater increase in deliveries compared to the previous year with 24 or 55 percent. Huawei managed to conquer a share of eight percent in the overall market, compared to seven percent in the previous year. Huawei is still a popular choice in China, especially because of his loyal customer base and its strong offline presence, Counterpoint. The brand continuously gains market shares of Apple in its home country and at the same time increase its awareness through the introduction of devices with special designs, such as the triple foldable Mate XT.

According to data from the market researchers, Xiaomi also increased primarily in the premium market in China. The brand advanced its “premiumization” in all areas, not only for smartphones, but also in its business areas of electric vehicles and IoT. According to Counterpoint, the introduction of the premium electric car is to benefit the Xiaomi smartphone business, which is closely interlinked with its electric vehicle and IoT segments.

Google grew the strongest

Google was able to grow most: the manufacturer of the Pixel smartphones made it to the top 5 of the premium smartphone brands after five years. The turnover has doubled compared to the previous year, which was due to “the strong performance of the Pixel 9 series, the expansion to new markets and more aggressive marketing measures”.

In addition, Google focused on its devices to differentiate the pixel series from that of other manufacturers by positioning them as AI-First devices with a “clean software experience” instead of only emphasizing the hardware equipment. For Google, growth is a positive development. However, Google’s market share is still significantly below that of the other five leading brands.

Premiumization also in Germany

Counterpoint does not provide any specifics to the German market, but Nielseniq (formerly GfK) figures show that consumers also use more expensive devices in this country. The average price for a new device is an average of 727 euros. For smartphones, it has been another price jump since 2023: At the beginning of 2024, NiQ wrote that the average paid price for a new smartphone in Germany was 701 euros. The price for a new device increased again by three percent.