The Rise of the World's Smartphone Kings—Chinese Brands Fall Behind as Sales Struggle

Two global smartphone kings, Apple and Samsung, have cemented their position as industry leaders throughout 2025. According to a TrendForce report, Apple and Samsung each produced nearly 240 million smartphone units during the past year.

Production levels do not necessarily equate to sales volumes; however, elevated production output can reflect increased market demand.

For Apple, this strong performance marks a resurgence of the Cupertino giant’s dominance in the smartphone sector after a period of decline across several quarters. Geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, coupled with competition from Chinese players such as Huawei, had previously shaken Apple’s market position.

However, the iPhone 17 series, which introduced significant design and innovation changes, has successfully restored Apple to its “king” status. In China particularly, the distinctive iPhone 17 Pro “Cosmic Orange” design—differing from previous iterations—is credited with driving strong sales, despite the inability to fully leverage Apple Intelligence capabilities in the country.

Specifically in the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2025, global smartphone production increased 2.7 percent year-on-year (YoY), reaching a total of 377 million units.

TrendForce noted that the smartphone market in the first half of 2025 benefited from Chinese government subsidy programmes. China represents the world’s largest smartphone market, making its performance a significant bellwether for global industry trends.

Meanwhile, the smartphone market in the second half of 2025 was supported by peak holiday season, driving global smartphone production up 2.5 percent YoY, equivalent to 1.254 billion units throughout 2025.

In the TrendForce report, Apple in the “king” position produced 239.8 million iPhone units throughout 2025. Q4 2025 production reached 87 million units, up 54 percent from the previous quarter (quarter-on-quarter) and 9 percent from the previous year (YoY).

Samsung, also crowned a “king,” similarly produced 239.8 million Galaxy units throughout 2025. Specifically in Q4 2025, its output was lower than iPhone at 58.2 million units. This figure still grew positively by 11 percent YoY, although it recorded a 7 percent quarter-on-quarter decline.

Chinese Smartphones Fail to Sell

Xiaomi in third place produced 169.8 million smartphone units throughout 2025. In Q4 2025, the company produced only 41.5 million smartphone units, down 7 percent both quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year.

Oppo ranked fourth with a total of 143 million smartphones produced. During Q4 2025, Oppo produced only 39.2 million smartphones, down 1 percent quarter-on-quarter, although it grew 7 percent year-on-year.

Vivo and Transsion recorded notably significant production declines. Vivo ranked fifth, producing 102 million smartphone units throughout 2025. In Q4 2025, Vivo produced only 23.8 million smartphone units, plummeting 16 percent quarter-on-quarter and declining 17 percent year-on-year.

Transsion in sixth position produced only 98 million smartphone units during the past year. In Q4 2025, its performance was negative, producing only 21.1 million smartphone units, down 28 percent quarter-on-quarter and down 22 percent year-on-year.

In seventh and eighth positions are Honor and Lenovo, producing 70.5 million and 61 million smartphones respectively throughout 2025.

2026 Crisis Looms

Looking ahead to 2026, smartphone manufacturers are predicted to face disruption. This is attributed to a forecast global memory chip shortage that is driving steep price increases.

TrendForce notes that smartphone production costs will rise significantly due to supply shortages in the field. As a result, global smartphone output is projected to decline by at least 10 percent year-on-year, or approximately 1.135 billion units.

“Smartphone brands will face a difficult choice between raising prices to maintain profit margins or reducing specifications to preserve shipment volumes, with the entry-level segment expected to bear the heaviest impact,” the TrendForce report states.