Take a guess: This was the best-selling Android phone globally last quarter

Ever wondered about the most popular smartphones globally? A tracking firm has just released its list of the best-selling smartphones in Q3 2025, revealing some interesting results.

Counterpoint Research posted its list of the top ten best-selling smartphones for Q3 2025, and the most popular Android phone was the fifth-placed Samsung Galaxy A16 5G. It’s no surprise to see a budget Samsung phone leading the charge for Android, as these devices have low prices and shift higher volume as a result. It also comes after the Galaxy A15 4G and Galaxy A15 5G were the most popular Android phones in Q3 2024.

Samsung phones accounted for half of the top ten smartphones. These were the Galaxy A06 (sixth), Galaxy A36 (seventh), Galaxy A56 (eighth), and Galaxy A16 4G (ninth). Counterpoint claimed that the Galaxy A36 and A56 saw better sales than their predecessors a year ago, citing improved AI features, faster charging, and a long update policy.

Interestingly, there were no flagship Samsung phones in the top ten for the quarter. By contrast, the base Galaxy S24 cracked the top ten in Q3 2024. We also don’t see any Xiaomi phones on the list, after the Redmi 13C 4G made an appearance a year ago.

What’s perhaps more notable is that Apple’s older iPhones ruled the top four. The iPhone 16, iPhone 16 Pro, and iPhone 16 Pro Max accounted for the top three, followed by the newer iPhone 16e. The iPhone 17 series was only on sale for a few weeks in Q3, but the iPhone 17 Pro Max still landed in tenth place. Nevertheless, this ranking shows that there was still a strong appetite for previous-generation iPhones even though the iPhone 17 series hype was at a fever pitch.