Global smartphone market: Samsung does not allow Apple

After market numbers from Canalys, the global smartphone deliveries in the second quarter of 2025 fell slightly to 288.9 million units-in the first quarter there were 296.9 million units. Samsung in particular emerges as the winner.

U -turn for Samsung

Samsung was the most successful manufacturer in the second quarter and delivered 57.5 million smartphones, which corresponds to an increase of seven percent compared to the previous year. According to Canalys the growth is less thanks to the Galaxy S25 series, but rather the models of the new Galaxy A series, which was introduced in early March 2025.

The second quarter was also an important turning point for Samsung. “It was the first quarter since the fourth quarter of 2021, in which the company recorded the strongest growth in the top 5,” explains Aaron West, senior analyst at Omdia, the parent company of Canalys. “Samsung has geared his strategy to ‘Smart Volume’ and is aiming for a profitable scaling of his Galaxy A series for the mass market, while at the same time continuing the growth of its premium models,” said the market researcher.

According to the market researchers, Samsung’s paragraph, similar to that of Apple, could be boosted by “preliminary settlement of the inventory in the United States” due to customs concerns.

Apple: great numbers, but …

While Samsung was able to record a plus, Apple looked less rosy. Apple took second place in the ranking of the top smartphone manufacturers, but iPhone deliveries decreased by two percent to 44.8 million units.

Apple’s quarterly figures were still excellent. Because despite the unstable trade situation, which is also due to the incalculable customs policy of the US government, the group makes $ 44.5 billion $ 44.5 billion. Due to “early purchases” due to customs uncertainty, sales on the iPhone were almost $ five billion above what analysts had predicted.

Meanwhile, Xiaomi remains third. The Chinese manufacturer delivered 42.4 million units and made strong growth, especially in Latin America and Africa. Vivo is in fourth place with growth of two percent and 26.4 million units delivered. Vivo was particularly able to grow in India. With 24.6 million (minus three percent) units delivered, the manufacturer Transsion, which is less well -known in this country, finished fifth with its brands Infinix, Itel and Tecno.

Canalys emphasizes the manufacturer Nothing. This does not yet appear separately in the ranking with regard to its low market shares, but the company has grown by 177 percent compared to the previous year and was able to stop more than one million devices per quarter for the first time. “The path from Nothing to the most growing provider worldwide was primarily advanced through its successful investments in India,” writes Canalys.

Third quarter “hectic”

The third quarter will be a “hectic introductory season”. The manufacturers “concentrate on topics such as AI, foldable devices and slenderness to boost demand before the Christmas season at the end of the year,” it says.

In the course of the coming months, among other things, Google’s pixel 10 models can be expected, in which the manufacturer will probably put a lot on AI again. Apple also expects an ultra-slim iPhone 17 Air or Slim that could replace the Plus model. In addition, Honor wants to bring his thin foldable Magic V5 to Europe, while Samsung plans a double foldable foldable.