iPhone 16e Outsold The iPhone 17 Pro Max In Q3 2025, No Other iPhone 17 Model Made The Top-10 List That’s Dominated By Apple’s Previous-Generation Flagships
The iPhone 17 Pro Max offers the most upgrades out of any of Apple’s flagships, but despite being the technology giant’s latest and greatest offering for this year, the iPhone 16e, which is the company’s most affordable member of its smartphone lineup, managed to outsell the premium handset, at least according to the latest research. In fact, no iPhone 17 made the top-10 best-selling global smartphone list for Q3 2025, with the leaderboards comprising of models that Apple introduced last year, followed by several Samsung smartphones.
Base iPhone 16 secured the top spot, while Samsung’s Galaxy A16 5G was the best-selling Android smartphone for Q3 2025
The latest data from Counterpoint Research showcases some interesting winners for the top-10 best-selling smartphones list of Q3 2025. Firstly, the base iPhone 16 took the crown, followed by the iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max. In fourth place, we have the iPhone 16e, which is Apple’s $599 model that helps new consumers enter the iOS ecosystem. Even though this supposed mid-ranger ships with a ton of hardware compromises, it manages to outsell the iPhone 17 Pro Max for the third quarter, whereas the latter secures tenth place.
“The iPhone 16 led the market with 4% volume share, maintaining the first position for the third consecutive quarter. Thanks to a sales boost in India driven by festive promotions and sustained recovery in Japan, the iPhone 16 was able to restrict the iPhone 16 series’ seasonal decline due to the iPhone 17 series launch. The iPhone 16 Pro models, however, saw a steeper decline as the highest contributing markets, like the US, UK and China, saw more consumers opting for the iPhone 17 series over the predecessor.”
From the Android side of things, no Samsung flagship made it to the top-10 best-selling list, with the Galaxy A16 5G cementing its position as the most popular non-iPhone handset for Q3 2025. During the same period last year, the base iPhone 15 took the number one position, followed by the iPhone 15 Pro Max and iPhone 15 Pro. Our guess is that the best-selling smartphone for Q3 2026 will be the base iPhone 17, and it will be odd if that doesn’t happen.
After all, it sports impressive hardware specifications, including the 3nm A19 SoC, followed by 8GB RAM, and most importantly, an LTPO OLED that supports ProMotion, making it the first time that a non-Pro model ships with this technology. We have also discussed in-depth why a ProMotion panel is a significant deal, but we’ll have to wait until next year to find out if our prediction comes true. For now, take a look at Counterpoint Research’s latest analysis by clicking on the source link below.
About the author: Omar Sohail is a reporter and analyst for Wccftech's mobile section, specializing in the technology and business of the mobile industry. His expertise lies in the intricate hardware supply chain, covering developments in semiconductor manufacturing, chip lithography, and camera sensor technology.
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