The global smartphone market has posted a modest but meaningful recovery, growing 4% year-on-year in the December quarter of 2025, according to new figures from analyst firm Omdia.

The rebound was driven by seasonal holiday demand and tighter inventory management across the industry, even as rising component costs began to bite into margins for some manufacturers.

Apple emerged as the clear winner for the quarter, claiming a 25% global market share and delivering its strongest ever fourth quarter on the back of strong demand for the iPhone 17 lineup.

The company also finished 2025 as the world’s largest smartphone vendor for the third year in a row, narrowly ahead of long-time rival Samsung.

Samsung took second place in the December quarter with an 18% share, buoyed not by its premium flagships but by strong momentum in the sub-US$300 segment. The Galaxy A17 in both 4G and 5G variants was a key volume driver.

Xiaomi held onto third place with an 11% share, though its position weakened slightly due to softer volumes in some core markets.

Vivo and OPPO rounded out the top five, each with 8% share.

For OPPO, the quarter marked a return to growth ahead of its planned integration of Realme into the business in early 2026.

Across the full year, global smartphone shipments rose 2% to 1.25 billion units, reflecting what Omdia describes as an uneven recovery: a weak first half followed by a stronger second half, particularly in emerging markets and around major flagship launches.

However, the outlook for 2026 is far from straightforward.

Omdia warns that rising memory and semiconductor costs, especially tight supplies of DRAM, are already constraining volumes and pushing vendors to focus more heavily on pricing discipline, profitability and operational efficiency.