Samsung Vs Apple: The Smartphone Battle Heats Up- And Other Compelling Stats You Can’t Miss

In the last couple of decades smartphones have played a significant role in our daily lives, and numbers support this fact. Nearly 3 in every 4 people of the top 10 developed countries owns a smartphone. And with approximately 7.2 billion smartphones distributed around the globe, it’s one of the most common items owned worldwide.

One important player in this exponential growth is the almost unexistant gap between different types of mobile phones, with 90% of cellphones worldwide becoming smartphones. And this is just the beginning.

With each year passing, the number of smartphone users keeps increasing. And according to the experts, this growth is not going to stop anytime soon. In today’s article we’ll take a look at the latest smartphone ownership statistics and trends and see how these will evolve in the years to come.

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Top Smartphone Ownership Statistics (2025)

• There’s approximately 7.21 billion smartphones worldwide.
• Around 91% of college graduates own a smartphone.
• Over the last 5 years, the smartphone user population has increased 5%.
• The country with the highest number of smartphone users is China.
• 55% of smartphone users worldwide come from Asia.
• Globally, 98% of Gen Z owns a smartphone.
• There are upwards of 10.47 billion IoT connections worldwide.
• Android is the leading mobile operating system in the world.
• Samsung is the current global smartphone market leader.
• The country with the highest smartphone usage per capita is France.

How Many Smartphones Are in the World?

According to the data gathered by Statista, there’s approximately 7.21 billion smartphones in the world. That number is certainly high, but it’s important to highlight that it doesn’t mean that 90% of the global population owns a smartphone. In fact, only France has a smartphone penetration rate of 82.6%. This number just means that many people and businesses own more than a single smartphone. To illustrate this fact, it is estimated that 15 billion mobile-connected devices are currently in use.

Regarding the number of smartphone users, this has been growing steadily since 2016.

Here’s a detailed table showcasing the number of smartphone users from 2016 to 2027:

• 2016- 3.7 billion smartphone users.
• 2017- 4.4 billion smartphone users.
• 2018- 5.1 billion smartphone users.
• 2019- 5.6 billion smartphone users.
• 2020- 5.9 billion smartphone users.
• 2021- 6.3 billion smartphone users.
• 2022- 6.6 billion smartphone users.
• 2023- 6.8 billion smartphone users.
• 2024- 7.1 billion smartphone users.
• 2025*- 7.3 billion smartphone users.
• 2026*- 7.5 billion smartphone users.
• 2027*- 7.7 billion smartphone users.

(* estimated)

This data is supported by the increasing number of smartphone mobile network subscriptions from 2016 to 2028.

Here’s the breakdown of the data:

• 2016- 3,700 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2017- 4,446.22 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2018- 5,053.63 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2019- 5,588.45 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2020- 5,922.09 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2021- 6,337.5 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2022- 6.620.54 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2023- 6,973.63 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2024- 7,211.34 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2025*- 7,434.39 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2026*- 7,583.81 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2027*- 7,771.91 million smartphone network subscriptions.
• 2028*- 7,948.9 million smartphone network subscriptions.

(Source: Statista)

Smartphone Ownership by Country

There’s approximately 70 million active smartphone users among the 10 countries with the highest smartphone ownership rate. China leads the list with 974.69 million smartphone users, closely followed by India with 659 million. It is expected that both countries will keep leading the smartphone user ranking in the years to come, since China and India are also leaders in population worldwide. 

Here’s a detailed list of smartphone users by leading countries:

1. China- 974.69 million smartphone users.
2. India- 659 million smartphone users.
3. United States- 276.14 million smartphone users.
4. Indonesia- 187.7 million smartphone users.
5. Brazil- 143.43 million smartphone users.
6. Russia- 106.44 million smartphone users.
7. Japan- 83.34 million smartphone users.
8. Mexico- 78.37 million smartphone users.
9. Pakistan- 72.99 million smartphone users.
10. Egypt- 71.24 million smartphone users.

(Source: Statista)

However, it’s important to point out that these numbers need to be compared to the total population of said countries. This way, with a population of 1.43 billion, the smartphone penetration in China is only 68% (even if the amount of users is higher than the rest of the countries). Other countries like Japan, with only 97.44 million smartphone users have a penetration of 78.6%, since the total population of the country is significantly lower (123.95 million).

Here’s a breakdown of smartphone penetration in selected countries:

1. France- 82.6%
2. United Kingdom- 82.2%
3. Germany- 81.9%
4. United States- 81.6%
5. Japan- 78.6%
6. Turkey- 75%
7. Iran- 74.4%
8. Russia- 73.6%
9. Thailand- 73.4%
10. China- 68.4%

(Source: Statista)

US Smartphone User Statistics 2025

According to recent data, 93.47% of the US population uses a smartphone. Taking a closer look at the data gathered since 2009, we can see how the number of smartphone owners in the US has been growing steadily over the past decade, and the tendency isn’t expected to stop until at least 2040. 

Here’s a detailed breakdown of the number of smartphone users in the US since 2009:

• 2009- 61.49 million users.
• 2010- 81.63 million users.
• 2011- 107.2 million users.
• 2012- 138.2 million users.
• 2013- 165.8 million users.
• 2014- 190.3 million users.
• 2015- 217.3 million users.
• 2016- 241.9 million users.
• 2017- 259.5 million users.
• 2018- 274.1 million users.
• 2019- 287.8 million users.
• 2020- 296.8 million users.
• 2021- 302 million users.
• 2022- 307 million users.
• 2023- 311.8 million users.
• 2024- 316.2 million users.
• 2025*- 320.4 million users.
• 2026*- 324.4 million users.
• 2027*- 328.2 million users.
• 2028*- 331.8 million users.
• 2029*- 335.2 million users.
• 2030*- 338.5 million users.

(* estimated)

Smartphone Users in the US by Gender

The average US smartphone user in the US is male. According to Pew Research, 80% of males in the United States own a smartphone, compared to 75% of females.

Smartphone Users in the US by Age

Users ages from 18 to 19 years old lead the list of smartphone owners with 94% of them regularly using a cell phone. In second position we find the 30 to 49 year olds (89%) closely followed by the 50 to 64 year olds (73%). Closing the list we find the 65+ users, with only 46% of them owning a smartphone.

• 18 to 29 years old- 94%
• 30 to 49 years old- 89%
• 50 to 64 years old- 73%
• 65+ years old- 46%

A recent report made by Statista confirms this data, clearly showing a correlation between smartphone ownership and generation of its users.

• Generation Alpha (2013- 2020’s)- 17%
• Gen Z ( 1995-2012)- 72.80%
• Millennials (1980-1994)- 94.40%
• Gen X (1965-1979)- 88.80%
• Baby Boomers (1946-1964)- 68.10%

Smartphone Users in the US by Ethnicity

There’s almost no difference among US smartphone users based on their ethnicity. According to Pew Research, smartphone users are white by 77%, hispanic by 77% and black by 75%.

Smartphone Users in the US by Residence

Most people who own a smartphone in the United States reside in the urban areas by 83%. Following closely we have suburban residents with 78% and lastly, 65% of them are residents of rural districts.

Smartphone Users in the US by Education Level

There’s a clear correlation between level of education and smartphone ownership in the US. While 91% of College graduates own a smartphone, only 69% of high-school graduates use one. 

Here’s the percentage of US citizens who own a smartphone in correlation to their level of education:

• Less than high-school- 57%
• High-school graduate- 69%
• Some College- 80%
• College graduate- 91%

Smartphone Market Share

Smartphone brands have been leading their own private little war, offering year after year new models and features to make them stand out in front of the competition.

A report made by IDC shows how from 2012 to Q2 2022, Samsung led the sales, with almost one-third of the total market share. Apple was steadily in second position, followed by Xiami, Oppo, Vivo and Lenovo.

Here’s a breakdown of the smartphone market share between Samsung and Apple since 2012:

• 2012- Samsung (30.3%), Apple (18.7%)
• 2013- Samsung (31.3%), Apple (15.3%)
• 2014- Samsung (24.4%), Apple (14.8%)
• 2015- Samsung (22.3%), Apple (16.1%)
• 2016- Samsung (21.1%), Apple (14.6%)
• 2017- Samsung (21.7%), Apple (14.7%)
• 2018- Samsung (20.8%), Apple (14.9%)
• 2019- Samsung (21.6%), Apple (13.9%)
• 2020- Samsung (20.6%), Apple (15.9%)
• 2021- Samsung (18.9%), Apple (14.2%)
• 2022- Samsung (21.8%), Apple (15.6%)

This trend is not going to stop, with industry experts forecasting Samsung’s market share leading position in the years to come.

Regarding operating systems, as of November 2024 Android currently holds 71.77%· of the OS market share, followed by Apple’s iOS with 27.77%.

Here’s a detailed list of the OS market share:

• Android- 71.77%
• iOS- 27.77%
• Samsung- 0.31%
• KaiOS- 0.03%
• Linux- 0.01%

However, it is important to point out that Android is not the leading OS in all countries. In the US, for example, iOS leads the list with 55.48% of the share with Android claiming only 44.27% of the market.

Wrap Up

Globally, smartphone adoption keeps growing at a steady pace, with industry specialists saying that this trend is not going to stop anytime soon. While in some developing countries cell phones are still the preferred choice over these smart devices, smartphones are definitely one of the most common items owned across the world.