iPhone Remained World's Most Popular Smartphone Last Quarter

iPhone remained the world's most popular smartphone by a significant margin last quarter, according to research firm Strategy Analytics.

iphone trio
iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus were the two most popular models specifically, with an estimated 21.5 million and 17.4 million shipments respectively.

Chinese brand OPPO's flagship R9 smartphone trailed in third with an estimated 8.9 million shipments, while Samsung's mid-range Galaxy J3 and J5 rounded off the top five with an estimated 6.1 million and 5 million shipments respectively. Other brands combined for an estimated 294.4 million smartphone shipments.

most popular smartphones q1 2017 strategy analytics
Apple reported that it sold 50.8 million iPhones last quarter, but it does not break out sales on a model-by-model basis.

Strategy Analytics' estimates suggest the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus accounted for roughly 76.5 percent of Apple's smartphone sales last quarter, with the remaining 23.5 percent of sales derived from older models. The data also suggests a 55/45 percent sales split for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus respectively.

In late January, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the iPhone 7 Plus is the most popular Plus-sized iPhone that Apple has ever sold, topping both the iPhone 6s Plus and iPhone 6 Plus. Last week, he added that Apple significantly underestimated iPhone 7 Plus demand, resulting in a shortage of the device for several months.

iPhone was the world's most popular smartphone last year as well, according to research firm IHS Markit.

Related Forum: iPhone

Popular Stories

iOS 26

Everything New in iOS 26.2 Beta 3

Monday November 17, 2025 3:20 pm PST by
Apple provided developers with the third beta of an upcoming iOS 26.2 update, and there are still new features that are being added with each beta that we get. We've rounded up all of the changes that Apple made in beta 3. AirDrop Apple added new AirDrop functionality, providing a way for two people to share files temporarily without having to add one another as contacts. iOS 26.2...
applecare apple care banner

Apple Brings New AppleCare+ Options to India

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:42 am PST by
Apple today announced an expansion of AppleCare+ coverage in India, with new options for monthly and annual plans, and the addition of Theft and Loss for iPhone for the first time. Options for monthly and annual AppleCare+ plans in India provide more choice and flexibility, allowing users to keep coverage for as long as they require. Apple's vice president of Worldwide iPhone Product...
iPhone 17 Pro Cosmic Orange

10 Reasons to Wait for Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro

Wednesday November 19, 2025 4:00 am PST by
Apple's iPhone development roadmap runs several years into the future and the company is continually working with suppliers on several successive iPhone models at the same time, which is why we often get rumored features months ahead of launch. The iPhone 18 series is no different, and we already have a good idea of what to expect for the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max. One thing worth...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
Apple Wallet ID Illinois

iPhone Driver's License Feature Launching in Illinois

Tuesday November 18, 2025 8:47 am PST by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Starting this Wednesday, November 19, the feature will be available to residents of Illinois. The announcement confirmed that the...
iPhone 17 Pro and Air N1 Feature

iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 16 Wi-Fi Speeds: New Study Reveals the Winner

Tuesday November 18, 2025 10:53 am PST by
A new study has revealed that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air achieve significantly faster average Wi-Fi speeds compared to the iPhone 16 series, thanks to Apple's custom-designed N1 chip. The study was conducted by Ookla, the company behind the popular Speedtest website and app. It said the results are based on global, crowdsourced Speedtest user data...
ipad mini 7 feature red and blue

iPad Mini 8: Four Major New Features to Expect

Wednesday November 19, 2025 7:50 am PST by
Apple's eighth-generation iPad mini is highly likely to arrive next year, offering a significant refresh of the device with at least four major new features. OLED Display The next-generation version of the iPad mini could feature an OLED display, as part of Apple's plan to expand the display technology across many more of its devices. Apple's first OLED device was the Apple Watch in 2015, ...
macbook black friday

The Best Early Black Friday Mac Deals

Tuesday November 18, 2025 7:32 am PST by
We're getting closer to Black Friday, which lands next week on Friday, November 28. In the lead-up to the shopping holiday, we're tracking a few lowest-ever prices on Apple's most popular Macs, including the M4 MacBook Air and brand new M5 MacBook Pro. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment,...
best early black friday deals

Best Black Friday Apple Deals Live Now - Save on AirPods, iPads, and Apple Watches

Saturday November 15, 2025 1:45 pm PST by
We're officially in the month of Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When ...
Magic Keyboard Touch ID Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for 140W USB-C Power Adapter, Magic Keyboard and Magic Trackpad

Tuesday November 18, 2025 1:05 pm PST by
Apple today released updated firmware for several accessories, including the 140W USB-C Power Adapter, the Magic Trackpad 2, the Magic Trackpad USB-C, the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and the Magic Keyboard with Touch ID and Numeric Keypad. There is no word on what's included in the updated firmware at this time, but it could offer performance improvements and security updates. Accessory...

Top Rated Comments

adepew Avatar
111 months ago
I wonder why the OPPO is the third most sold smartphone last quarter...



Attachment Image
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
autrefois Avatar
111 months ago


This chart shows that the iPhone 7 and the 7 Plus are both selling infinitely better than they were in Q1 of last year! That ought to shut up the "Apple is doomed" folks. ;)
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
djcerla Avatar
111 months ago
This is why you can buy every. kind. of. accessory. if you have an iPhone. A huge ecosystem advantage.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
62tele Avatar
111 months ago
As always conflicting statistics depending on the source. Go to sites such as ZDNet and the story is quite different where Samsung have the upper hand.
I just checked zdnet and found nothing to conflict with that report. Further, a search of Google didn't turn up anything either. Regardless, it doesn't matter. Apple's iPhone sales are producing profits unrivaled by others. It's iPhone versus the undifferentiated Android devices. Many use the term "iPhone" to generically refer to smartphones. No other device has that cachet.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Wowereit Avatar
111 months ago
As always conflicting statistics depending on the source. Go to sites such as ZDNet and the story is quite different where Samsung have the upper hand.

Not of course there is any bias at all.
Samsung is selling more devices than Apple, but Apple's best-selling model is outselling Samsung's best-selling model.

It's not that complicated.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Zirel Avatar
111 months ago
The best sold Apple phone costs $649 for the base 32GB model

The best sold Samsung phone costs $92 for the base 8GB model

No wonder Samsung sells more phones than Apple...

Units are not comparable at all!

What's the point of selling many cheap phones? It is clear that Android OEMs cannot make it back in volume, because Google and Spotify are the ones taking advantage of Android's volume and not the OEMs. Google's not even taking that much of advantage of volume, because their store, with 85% of the marketshare of devices only makes 50% of what Apple makes, and YouTube Red, Google Play Music, etc. have been failures.

What's really interesting is that the Chinese can sell a more expensive phone than Samsung, the Oppo R9s costs $499! What a world, where a company that lives of the shade of Android being open source (no Google Play in China), can convince people to spend much more money than Samsung can! So many engineers, such a big company, so much money spent on advertising, and the result is selling a product like this:

(https://postimg.org/image/pudipdp2p/)print screen windows 7 (https://postimage.io/app.php)certificity.com (https://certificity.com)

Their own costumers rate it 1.5 stars / 5!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)