Samsung has outsold Apple for the third consecutive quarter, even with the new iPhone 17's strong sales.

Samsung's recent success is noteworthy considering the smartphone market's growth in Q3 compared to last year, as well as Apple's recent iPhone 17 series release, which was too late in the quarter to impact vendor rankings.

At the start of 2025, there was some ambiguity regarding which company led global smartphone sales in 2024. IDC reported Apple slightly ahead of Samsung in worldwide shipments, while Counterpoint Research's full-year data showed the reverse.

Now, both IDC (via Reuters) and Omdia concur on the Q3 2025 leader and the small margin over the second-place competitor.

Samsung achieved a 19 percent market share compared to Apple's 18 percent, mirroring the figures and difference from Q3 2024. This translates to 61.4 million units for Samsung and 58.6 million for Apple. Both companies saw increased sales from last year, as the overall market shows encouraging growth after stagnation in Q1 and Q2.

Omdia estimates a 3 percent year-on-year industry increase without specifying Q3 2024 or Q3 2025 totals. IDC analysts provide more specific data: 322.7 million units in July-September, up 2.6 percent from last year.

Apple is expected to lead global smartphone sales this holiday season, a trend that will likely continue despite the iPhone 17 series having limited availability this past quarter.

The iPhone 17 series brought Apple within one percentage point of Samsung's market share in the same quarter as the Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Z Flip 7 launches. The iPhone 17 family should propel Apple to the top spot in Q4.

The base iPhone 17 is performing well, exceeding expectations due to increased storage and stable pricing. The 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max are reportedly performing similarly to their predecessors.

The iPhone Air shipments are described as modest, but may compare favorably to the discontinued iPhone 16 Plus. The 2025 iPhone series is outperforming the 2024 models, but it's unclear if this boost will offset Samsung's Q1-Q3 lead.

The smartphone market is growing again. A 2.6 or 3 percent increase is a positive sign for the upcoming holiday season.

The iPhone 17 family won't be the only popular device in Q4. Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, Z Flip 7, and Galaxy A-series phones should continue to sell well, along with Xiaomi, Transsion, and Vivo handsets. These companies ranked third, fourth, and fifth globally from July to September 2025. The industry's overall health is more important than any single brand's narrow victory.

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