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iPhone 17 Helps Apple Reclaim Top Spot From Samsung After 14 Years

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Apple is set to reclaim the title of world's largest smartphone maker for the first time since 2011, driven by the success of the iPhone 17 lineup, according to Counterpoint Research data (via Bloomberg).

iPhone-17-Review-Thumb-3.jpg

Based on the firm's data, iPhone shipments are projected to grow 10% in 2025, easily outpacing Samsung's 4.6% growth. As a result, Apple is expected to capture a 19.4% global market share as the overall smartphone market expands 3.3% for the year.

The iPhone 17 series has posted double-digit year-over-year sales growth in both the U.S. and China. Counterpoint previously reported that the iPhone 17 lineup outsold iPhone 16 models by 14% during the first 10 days of availability in those markets, and that Apple had a record October in China with sales jumping 37% year-over-year.

Apple is also benefiting from easing U.S.-China trade tensions and a weaker dollar that has boosted purchases in emerging markets.

Counterpoint analyst Yang Wang said the key driver behind the upgraded shipment outlook was a replacement cycle "inflection point," as consumers who bought phones during the pandemic boom are now ready to upgrade. Wang noted that 358 million secondhand iPhones were sold between 2023 and Q2 2025, representing another pool of potential upgraders.

Looking ahead, Wang expects Apple to extend its lead with the 2026 launch of its first foldable iPhone and a budget-friendly iPhone 17e, followed by a major iPhone design overhaul in 2027, in celebration of the device's 20th anniversary.

Article Link: iPhone 17 Helps Apple Reclaim Top Spot From Samsung After 14 Years
 
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https://www.macrumors.com/2025/11/26/iphone-17-sales-drive-apple-past-samsung/
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iPhone 5.7” 6.3” 6.9”
iPhone Ultra 5.7” 6.3” 6.9”

No other phones. No numbers. No bs.

And fix camera control, with that button to be used only for quickly snapping a photo(s) and rapidly initiating a video recording. Pare down to a simple QuickSnap button with speed in mind 💥

With QuickView—a half-press of this button—to preview the camera view, stops shy of fullscreen, awaits a full button press to enter Camera app, or the user to let go of the button to exit this view—a handy view to play with—from inside any app or the lock screen. Will I? Won’t I? Always at the ready. Like with a traditional camera, the half-press would be a physical stage—not an arbitrary pressure range like Force Touch—the button would stop halfway—the button would want to be played with.

Optional feature in Settings > Camera > QuickSnap: Take a photo and open Camera with a single press of QuickSnap button (by default two presses are needed, one to open Camera and another to take a photo). Truly rapid.

That is all.
 
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Mac Fly (film) said:
iPhone 5.7” 6.3” 6.9”
iPhone Ultra (thicc) 5.7” 6.3” 6.9”

And fix camera control, for taking fast photos and initiating fast videos only. Simplify to a simple QuickSnap button, with QuickView preview-camera-view feature that stops short of fullscreen until you compress the button full, or let go to exit—a handy view to play with—from inside any app or from the lock screen.

That is all.
Click to expand...

iPhone Ultra. A phone with the durability aspects of the Watch Ultra, including the waterproof ratings, and a raised lip around the screen.
 
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Mac Fly (film) said:
iPhone 5.7” 6.3” 6.9”
iPhone Ultra 5.7” 6.3” 6.9”

No other phones. No numbers. No bs.

And fix camera control, with that button to be used only for quickly snapping a photo(s) and rapidly initiating a video recording. Pare down to a simple QuickSnap button with speed in mind 💥

With QuickView (a half-press of this button) to preview the camera view, stops shy of fullscreen awaiting a full button press, or the user to let go of the button and exit the view—a handy view to play with—from inside any app or the lock screen. Will I? Won’t I? Always at the ready.

Optional feature in Settings > Camera > QuickSnap: Take a photo and open Camera with a single press of QuickSnap button (by default two presses are needed, one to open Camera and another to take a photo).

That is all.
Click to expand...

iPhone with 5.7” screen - yes please!
 
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This generation of iPhones is the most successful ever. Selling in massive numbers and serving diverse segments of the largest consumer tech market in history. Even the maligned Air, an early adopter product if there ever was one, is likely generating more revenue in its first generation than a Fortune 500 company. Meanwhile, social media is full of posts about how Apple has lost their way and should go back to making just one iPhone model like the one Steve Jobs introduced. The online discourse, now more than ever, is completely divorced from reality.
 
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Simmias said:
This generation of iPhones is the most successful ever. Selling in massive numbers and serving diverse segments of the largest consumer tech market in history. Even the maligned Air, an early adopter product if there ever was one, is likely generating more revenue in its first generation than a Fortune 500 company. Meanwhile, social media is full of posts about how Apple has lost their way and should go back to making just one iPhone model like the one Steve Jobs introduced. The online discourse, now more than ever, is completely divorced from reality.
Click to expand...
Social media is one big op of mostly bots, feds, scams, clickbait farms and npc’s arguing with one another. I had 320 followers and I’m convinced at least 250 of them weren’t actual regular people.

Edit: and when I say 250, I mean about 300. Some people estimate social media comment traffic at ~50% bots. I'd say it's a higher proportion tbh, and will increasingly be so.
 
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Simmias said:
This generation of iPhones is the most successful ever. Selling in massive numbers and serving diverse segments of the largest consumer tech market in history. Even the maligned Air, an early adopter product if there ever was one, is likely generating more revenue in its first generation than a Fortune 500 company. Meanwhile, social media is full of posts about how Apple has lost their way and should go back to making just one iPhone model like the one Steve Jobs introduced. The online discourse, now more than ever, is completely divorced from reality.
Click to expand...
It also shows Apple's issues with AI is not affecting it.
 
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I hope that Apple don't forget this lesson and keep the regular iPhone as the one to get for regular people, with the other models being 'luxury' tiers - or those who simply want a telephoto

Talking of which - I doubt that we'll see this on the regular iPhone any time soon, but let's hope that digital zoom / crops keep on getting better and better.
 
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In other words, Apple finally listened and done something to the iPhone 17 that it should have been done years ago?
But at the same time, the $300 difference between the base phone and the pro gets really hard to justify this time around.
 
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