A new report by Counterpoint Research points to India and China as key drivers of Apple’s 3% year-over-year rise in global premium smartphone sales during the first half of 2025, despite a market share dip. Here are the details.
For the past few months, we have covered multiple reports indicating that Apple had managed to reverse a years-long lull in iPhone sales in China, as it also strengthened its India footprint. In fact, both countries came up repeatedly during Apple’s Q3 2025 earnings call, with China leading the count with 15 mentions, followed by India, with 7.
Now, Counterpoint Research is out with a report that, as conference call analysts would say, gives more color to just how much these (and other) countries contributed to Apple’s 3% iPhone sales bump compared with the first half of 2024.
What the numbers say
During H1 2025, the global premium smartphone market saw its best first-half performance ever, following an 8% sales increase year over year.
According to the report, Apple comfortably led the pack with 62% market share and a 3% sales bump, followed by Samsung with 20% market share, and a 7% sales increase. Here is the full breakdown:
Interestingly, despite seeing a 3% bump in sales, Apple’s market share actually shrank precisely 3%, because its competitors, particularly Google, Xiaomi, and Huawei managed to grow faster and outpace Samsung and Apple. Google’s 105% growth year-over-year put it back in the top 5, pushed by the success of the Pixel 9.
As for how each country contributed to the overall picture, here’s what the report says:
“In terms of countries, the top 10 premium markets contributed close to 80% of sales in the segment and India (+37% YoY) was the fastest-growing market among them. India’s growth was driven by Apple’s good performance and availability of easy financing, which has expanded the addressable market for premium devices. However, in terms of absolute volumes, China, the world’s largest premium market, was the biggest contributor to growth.”
When it comes to Apple, Counterpoint Research says that despite Apple’s moves to reverse the iPhone lull in China, the company still lost share, particularly to brands such as Huawei and Xiaomi, who have a “loyal consumer base and a strong offline presence.”
Regarding hardware and software features, the report says that “GenAI-capable devices contributed to over 80% of premium smartphone sales,” and that foldable “remain a niche but growing category,” with a positive growth outlook thanks to Apple’s imminent entry in the segment.
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