iPhone 17 Outselling Every Other Phone Worldwide So Far This Year

Wednesday May 6, 2026 2:56 am PDT by Tim Hardwick

Apple's iPhone 17 was the best-selling smartphone globally in the first quarter of 2026, capturing 6 percent of worldwide unit sales, according to Counterpoint Research's latest Global Handset Model Sales Tracker.

iPhone 17 Colors
The iPhone 17 series dominated the top three spots, with the iPhone 17 Pro Max in second place and the iPhone 17 Pro in third. The previous-generation iPhone 16 also held on at sixth place, suggesting there's still strong demand for the model, following its blockbuster sales run throughout last year.

Counterpoint senior analyst Harshit Rastogi credited the iPhone 17's success to upgrades that brought the base model closer to the Pro variants, including higher 256GB base storage, improved cameras, and a faster 120Hz display refresh rate. Not only did the iPhone 17 post double-digit year-over-year growth in China and the U.S., it also tripled its sales in South Korea for the quarter.

Samsung's Galaxy A series filled the remaining five spots, led by the budget-friendly Galaxy A07 4G as the best-selling Android phone of the quarter. Xiaomi's Redmi A5 filled out the list in tenth place.

Taken together, the top 10 devices accounted for 25% of global smartphone sales -- the highest first-quarter concentration ever recorded, according to Counterpoint. In the meantime, the standard iPhone 17 is set to enjoy a six-month-longer flagship run than usual, with the iPhone 18 expected to see a launch in spring 2027.

Related Roundup: iPhone 17

Tag: Counterpoint

Buyer's Guide: iPhone 17 (Neutral)

Related Forum: iPhone

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Top Rated Comments

martin2345uk

26 weeks ago

and Apple saw this and were like “Never again! Let us gimp the standard 18 immediately!”

Score: 29 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Shalev Lazarof

26 weeks ago

IMO This is the most balanced feature packed iPhone for most users, unless you have specific need that the Air/Pro offer like thin and light form factor, triple camera system etc the 17 checks many boxes of what a smartphone should have in 2026, starting with iOS.

Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)

cicalinarrot

26 weeks ago

IMO This is the most balanced feature packed iPhone for most users, unless you have specific need that the Air/Pro offer like thin and light form factor, triple camera system etc the 17 checks many boxes of what a smartphone should have in 2026, starting with iOS.

We're almost there for me, but...
I think having no zoom camera at this point is pretty sad and forced at that price point.
There are Android phones that cost a much less than the 17 that can take better pictures from a distance, as anybody may need at a concert or when you see a cool bird or something. Nothing "Pro", very normal usage.
I'm also still mad at how they call the "optical-quality" zoom an "optical zoom" (which is just a lie) in the specifications. Cool sensor, surely better than most optical zooms on other phones, but you can't pretend it's an optical zoom when you crop, it's a scam.

For me personally, USB 2 is also kinda bad, but I understand that not many people notice. All rivals at that price point have been featuring USB 3 for years.

Great phone in most other aspects, of course, but I find a tad annoying that some features like that have to be left to the Pro just to fully justify its existence. A cool 30x telescopic optical zoom with night vision! That's a quirky feature for the special model! Not a 4x, I want that on my "cheaper" 900€ phone.

Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)

neuropsychguy

26 weeks ago

They do not wanna tell you maybe how badly were selling pro models. I think iPhone 17 highly impacted big brothers world wide …

That’s not what the chart shows. If you believe the 17 is selling well, the chart in the article shows the 17 Pro Max and 17 Pro also selling well. It is likely some people bought the 17 instead of the 17 Pro, but there's no evidence the 17 Pro is "badly...selling".

Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)