Apple achieved impressive 13% year-over-year growth in Q1 2025, shipping 55 million iPhones worldwide and increasing its global market share to 19%, up from 16% a year ago, according to the latest Canalys research.
Apple's performance is in stark contrast to the broader smartphone market, which recorded just 0.2% growth with 296.9 million units shipped globally.
Samsung maintained its lead with 60.5 million units and 20% market share, but it grew only 1% compared to last year. Xiaomi secured third place with 41.8 million units, followed by vivo and OPPO with about 8% market share each.
The U.S. smartphone market was a bright spot, growing 12% year-on-year, mainly driven by iPhone sales. According to Le Xuan Chiew of Canalys, "Apple proactively built up inventory ahead of anticipated tariff policies," which helped it lead the pack.
Apple has been diversifying production recently by ramping up iPhone manufacturing in India for both standard iPhone 15 and 16 models, as well as iPhone 16 Pro models. Ongoing fluctuations in reciprocal tariff policies are making Apple further shift U.S.-bound production to India to reduce exposure to future risks.
There was a lot of variation in regional demand in Q1. The U.S. market grew substantially and China benefited from government subsidies, but previously strong markets like India, Latin America, and the Middle East had notable declines.
Canalys expects the U.S. smartphone market to experience significant volatility over the next two to three quarters, due to inventory corrections and weakening consumer confidence in the face of fluctuating import tariffs.
