A big report related to the smartphone market has come out in the first quarter of 2026. According to Counterpoint Research, Apple's iPhone 17 has become the world's best-selling smartphone. The special thing is that the top 3 positions were occupied only by the iPhone 17 series. Samsung also showed its strong hold, but only most of its budget and mid-range phones could make it to the top list. This report clearly shows the changing trends of the market.
According to Counterpoint's Global Handset Model Sales Tracker report, iPhone 17 took the first position in Q1 2026 with 6 percent market share. After this, iPhone 17 Pro Max and iPhone 17 Pro stood at second and third place respectively. This shows that the demand for Apple's premium series remains constant. The report also revealed that 4 out of the top 10 smartphones are from Apple, in which iPhone 16 also stood at the sixth position. Its popularity further increased due to better refresh rate, dual 48 megapixel camera and pro-like selfie camera in the standard model of iPhone 17.
While Apple occupied the top 3, Samsung registered its presence in the top 10 by including maximum 5 smartphones. According to the report, Samsung Galaxy A07 4G was the best selling phone in the Android segment and it stood third in this list. Apart from this, Galaxy A17 5G, Galaxy A56, Galaxy A36 and Galaxy A17 4G were also included in the list. The special thing is that Samsung's flagship models could not make it to this list and only budget and mid-range phones strengthened the company.
According to the report, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, launched in February, fell a little short of making it to the top 10, although its initial sales were better than its previous model. This shows that the demand for cheap and mid-range smartphones remains high compared to flagship phones. On the other hand, Redmi A5 of Redmi brand stood at tenth place, which was said to be the most affordable phone in this list. There was continuous demand for it in emerging markets, due to which it was successful in making its place in the top 10.
