As ‘premium’ phones grow more popular, Galaxy S25 Ultra led the charge for Android in 2025

Ben Schoon | Feb 2 2026 - 8:10 am PT

The smartphone market is focused more and more on premium devices, and in 2025, the Galaxy S25 Ultra unsurprisngly led the charge.

Counterpoint Research broke down the top 10 best-selling smartphones in 2025, with Apple’s iPhone lineup taking up most of the slots. Specifically, the iPhone 16 series – iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro Max, and iPhone 16 Pro, in that order – made up the top three by a wide margin. It’s not until fifth place that you finally find an Android phone, with the Galaxy A16 being the best-selling Android phone of 2025, and the Galaxy A06 sitting right behind it.

That’s typically how it goes, but one notable thing this year is that the Galaxy S25 Ultra, while down in ninth place, narrowed the gap with its budget brethren compared to 2024’s Galaxy S24 Ultra and the Galaxy A15.

…Samsung’s S series secured a spot in the list for the second consecutive year, reflecting the brand’s continued focus on its flagship lineup. The Galaxy S25 Ultra improved its regional share, growing more than 3x YoY in Japan and achieving double‑digit growth in India… Notably, the Galaxy S25 Ultra has narrowed the sales share gap with Samsung’s best-selling A series despite the significant price contrast.

And that’s just a small part of the picture.

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Further reports from Counterpoint show the growing trend of “premiumization” in smartphones.

In Q4 2025, the average selling price of a smartphone globally crossed $400 for the first time ever, led by Apple, Counterpoint says. Focusing in on India, the premium segment of the smartphone market made up about 22% of shipments, again led by Apple but also by Samsung.

The trend of more premium smartphones is also a big deal as the ongoing memory shortage affects the entire industry. Where brands that focus on budget and mid-range devices are said to struggle, “high-end OEMs, like Apple and Google, or those with broad portfolios, like Samsung, are more protected,” Counterpoint says. In Europe, brands such as TCL, Infinix, Tecno, HMD, Realme, Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Motorola, and Honor are the brands that have the bulk of their sales made up of phones that cost under $250 (USD).