Unlike last year, when it was unclear for a little while what company won the global smartphone sales war of 2024, things look far more obvious at the beginning of 2026 in terms of 2025's dominant handset vendor.
Samsung made just as many mobile devices as Apple in 2025
Incredibly enough, we're apparently talking about an identical number of 239.8 million units for the world's top two smartphone manufacturers, and in terms of year-on-year progress, Samsung actually edged out its arch-rival with a production boost of 11 percent (compared to 9 percent growth for the Cupertino-based tech giant).
The iPhone 17 was undoubtedly one of the big contributors to Apple's dominant Q4 2025 production numbers. | Image by PhoneArena
Of course, that kind of makes Samsung's loss in the global shipment competition last year even more painful, as the mobile industry's former top dog clearly expected to win another such title on the back of the Galaxy S25 lineup and mid-rangers like the Galaxy A56 and Galaxy A17.
Samsung's overly ambitious goals likely became obvious for the company as the year progressed, with its production declining by 7 percent quarter-on-quarter and only reaching 58.2 million units during the final three months of 2025.
Did you buy a new smartphone in 2025?
87 Votes
Yes, an iPhone.
11.49%
Yes, a Samsung Galaxy.
43.68%
Yes, a Xiaomi, Oppo, or Vivo.
6.9%
Yes, something from a different brand.
5.75%
No, but I plan to buy one in 2026.
14.94%
No, and I'm probably not going to buy one in 2026 either.
17.24%
In the same timeframe, Apple impressively raised its global smartphone production by no less than 54 percent from Q3 to hit a whopping 87 million units and crucially contribute to the industry's overall 2.7 percent quarter-on-quarter increase and 2.5 percent year-on-year growth for 2025 as a whole.
Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo are the other top five players
Those three names and their positions in last year's global smartphone production hierarchy are definitely not surprising, largely lining up with the sales reports from the past couple of months, but it is interesting to note how far behind Oppo is Vivo ranked in this particular chart.
Recommended For You
That probably has something to do with the fact that Oppo's numbers also include major sub-brands like OnePlus and Realme, while Vivo only covers IQOO... in addition to Vivo.
That's a huge gap between the two leading brands and the rest of the top eight group. | Image by TrendForce
Despite holding a minimal advantage over Oppo in third place in Q4 2025 production, Xiaomi has a much larger lead for the entire year, which puts it in an excellent position to retain its bronze medal spot in 2026.
Another interesting detail to highlight is that Honor is the only other top eight smartphone manufacturer besides Apple that managed to boost its production in the last three months of last year compared to the previous three months, although that wasn't enough to take the sixth place away from Transsion.
In eighth place, we have Lenovo, which might sound surprising... if you've been living under a rock for the past decade and don't know the China-based giant owns Motorola.
What's on the horizon?
There's no easy way to put this for any (major or minor) player involved in the mobile industry. Sales will be down in 2026 (as so many reports have suggested over the last few months), and the same will obviously go for smartphone production as well.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra: save up to $720
$579
99
$1299
99
$720 off (55%)
The Galaxy S26 Ultra has been announced, bringing a Privacy Screen feature, insanely fast processor, and multiple Galaxy AI enhancements. Right now, you can save up to $720 at the Samsung Store with eligible trade-ins. You also get 15% off select add-ons and an additional $100 Samsung Credit for accessories with your purchase.
The Galaxy S26+ is here, bringing improved software and a more powerful processor. The device can now be yours for up to $440 off with eligible device trade-ins. You also get an extra 15% off for accessories.
The Galaxy S26 is currently available at the Samsung Store with an exciting trade-in discount. Right now, you can buy the model with a $340 discount with eligible trade-ins. You'll also get an extra 15% off select accessories.
TrendForce analysts expect a decline of "at least" 10 percent from around 1.25 billion smartphones manufactured worldwide in 2025 to roughly 1.1 billion units this year, and the main cause is no secret - the industry-wide surging memory prices that are already forcing brands like Samsung to make their handsets costlier and not (much) better.
With Apple tipped to be impacted by this rise in component prices to a smaller extent than everyone else, it feels safe to predict that iPhones will trump their Galaxy rivals in production numbers this time next year. But miracles do occasionally happen, so why wouldn't Samsung dream of pulling off one at the end of 2026, especially now that the Galaxy S26 Ultra looks like a massive hit?
Trade in your old phone for cash at ecoATM!
Recycle your used phone and get instant cash. Find out how at ecoATM!
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: