iPhone 16 Remains World’s Best-Selling Smartphone; No Samsung Flagship or Pixel in Top 10

Apple has not only maintained but also enhanced its performance in the premium smartphone sector worldwide through the iPhone 16, which has remained at the top of the list of smartphones sold for the second quarter in a row. Counterpoint Research's Q3 2025 tracker shows us that the majority of the top 10 listings were once again occupied by Apple products, which also means that there was literally no room for premium Samsung's Galaxy S or Z series—or even for the whole Google’s Pixel lineup.

The iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max took first, second, and third places, respectively. A remarkable fact is that, even though the iPhone 16e had been earlier termed a ‘failed’ model by analysts, it found its way to the fifth position, and this has been a clear indication of stronger-than-expected global customer demand. The iPhone 17 series that was just launched has not entered the rankings yet, but analysts predict that the results of the next quarter will shed light on its performance. The premium iPhone 17 Pro Max, however, did manage to get into the top 10.

Samsung was also on the list, but it was there only thanks to its A-series mid-range phones, namely, Galaxy A16 5G, Galaxy A06, Galaxy A36, Galaxy A56, and Galaxy A16 4G. The company’s most expensive and advanced models did not appear in the rankings.

According to the industry experts, the exclusion of Google Pixel, Vivo X-series, Xiaomi flagships, and other high-end Android devices signifies the continuing allure of Apple. The iPhone 16 is still the best-selling smartphone globally, even a year after its release—this fact underlines the difficulty that competing brands have when trying to take over even a part of Apple's market share.

As long as the iPhone ranks high in terms of brand value and status, analysts are of the opinion that Apple will rule the premium market for a considerably long time.