Apple iPhone sales lead markets as iPhone Air struggles

Apple steamrolled smartphone sales in 2025, locking down the charts with iPhones everywhere, while one awkward model faceplanted hard.

Apple floods the top rankings

• Apple locked the top four best sellers.
• iPhone 16 led the entire market.
• iPhone 16 Pro Max followed closely.
• iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max rounded it out.

What Counterpoint flagged

• Counterpoint Research tracked the rankings.
• Apple and Samsung filled all the top 10 slots.
• Those models made up 19 percent of global sales.
• No other brands broke through.

iPhone 17 momentum

• Base iPhone 17 jumped four spots.
• It posted the strongest growth.
• The iPhone 17 lineup beat the iPhone 16 series.
• Early sales ran 16 percent higher.

Samsung’s lone bright spot

• Galaxy S25 Ultra held its ground.
• It closed the gap with Samsung A-series phones.
• Price differences stayed massive.
• Volume still leaned premium.

The iPhone Air stumble

• iPhone Air sold roughly 200,000 units in China.
• iPhone 17 models moved about 17 million units there.
• Discounts hit up to 2,000 yuan.
• Extra subsidies stacked further cuts.

Why the Air tanked

• Battery capacity stayed limited.
• Only one 48MP camera shipped.
• The single speaker felt cheap.
• Resale value dropped 47.7 percent quickly.

Apple’s bigger market grip

• iPhones hit 25 percent of China sales in October.
• That mark only happened once before.
• Apple targets 10 percent shipment growth.
• Market share could reach 19.4 percent.

Sheer volume reality

• Apple sold 231.8 million iPhones in 2024.
• A 10 percent jump pushes shipments higher.
• Estimates land near 255 million units.
• Scale keeps separating Apple from rivals.

Executive confidence

• Tim Cook projected record results.
• December quarter guidance stayed bullish.
• iPhone performance anchors optimism.
• The sales machine keeps humming.