ZDNet's Favorite Smartphones: A Look Inside the Gadgets Writers Choose Daily

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As if we needed confirmation of Apple’s dominance in the smartphone market , a recent study drives it home – people really love iPhones. According to a recent study from Counterpoint Research, Apple’s ubiquitous handset isn’t simply the best-selling smartphone in the world – iPhone models take up the top seven spots.

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For 2023, the iPhone 14 was the number-one-selling phone, with the US and China alone making up half of its sales.

What’s interesting is that the current base model – the iPhone 13 – accounted for 19% of total iPhone sales for the year. That’s down from the 28% that the iPhone 13 logged in 2022 when it was the best-selling phone. The biggest reason for that, Counterpoint Research says, is that the iPhone 14 was fairly similar to the iPhone 13, leading people to adopt Pro models instead in order to gain new features.

The 14 Pro Max and then the 14 Pro claimed the second and third spots, bolstered by customers who were looking for a new phone, but wanting enough of a difference from the previous generation.

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2021’s iPhone 13 still held strong in the number spot overall, which research shows is largely due to carrier promotions in Japan and value-focused shoppers in India.

The 15 Pro Max , 15 Pro, and 15 sit in the 5 through 7 spots, respectively, despite being available for less than a quarter of the year.

It’s not until spot number eight that another manufacturer arrives, with the Galaxy A14 finally appearing on the list, followed by the Galaxy A04e in ninth place and the Galaxya14 4G in 10th. It’s worth noting that these too are value-oriented phones, especially popular in emerging markets such as Brazil, India, Mexico, and Indonesia.

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Also noteworthy: While these top 10 phones dominate the market, they account for only 20% of total sales, showing there’s a lot of room for other players.

Aside from Apple and Samsung, though, no other manufacturer made the list, which has been the case since 2021.

Will 2024’s list look much the same? Counterpoint Research suggests that as many manufacturers trim lineups, it’s likely that next year’s top 10 will take up a larger portion of the market overall. Additionally, phones from Chinese brands are expected to enter the list.