What you need to know
- Honor led smartphone growth in 2025 with an 11% rise in shipments, outperforming every major global brand.
- Global smartphone shipments grew 2% in 2025, with Apple and Samsung both posting strong 7% growth.
- Honor stood out among Chinese brands, while Oppo and Xiaomi saw declines of 3% and 2% respectively.
According to a new report, Honor had a strong 2025, posting 11% year-over-year growth, the highest among all smartphone brands last year.
A new report from Omdia revealed that global smartphone shipments grew by 2% in 2025, marking the biggest increase since 2021. Among all smartphone makers, Apple was the biggest beneficiary, with iPhone shipments growing 7% to 240.6 million units thanks to strong demand for the iPhone 17 lineup.
On the Android side, Samsung also had a solid 2025, reporting the same 7% year-over-year growth as Apple. This was driven by strong demand for the Galaxy S25 series and the much-improved Galaxy Z Fold 7. However, the flagship brand with the highest growth in 2025 was Honor.
According to the report, Honor posted a notable 11% growth, the highest of any flagship maker last year. The company released several high-profile devices, including the Honor Magic V5 foldable and the Honor Magic 8 Pro earlier this year.
In fact, Honor was also the only major Chinese brand to post strong growth, while Oppo and Xiaomi saw declines of 3% and 2%, respectively. Vivo, meanwhile, recorded a modest 4% increase.
The report doesn't mention Google's Pixel growth in 2025, although a previous report from Counterpoint Research indicated that Google also saw strong overall growth in its smartphone business last year.
Overall, the smartphone industry saw healthy growth in 2025, but the outlook for 2026 appears less optimistic. Rising memory prices and increased competition for components from data centers are pushing up manufacturers' internal costs, which are likely to be passed on to consumers and could lead to higher smartphone prices and, thus, slower sales.
Android Central's Take
It's quite refreshing, isn't it? Samsung and Apple have dominated the market for years, so seeing other Android brands show strong global growth feels like a welcome change.
It's also interesting to watch what Honor is working on next, especially its rumored Robot phone, which appears to blend gimbal-style camera hardware with AI features. While nothing has been confirmed yet, reports suggest Honor could unveil a new foldable phone and fully showcase the Robot phone at MWC 2025 next month.
