Nobody Buys Phones for Artificial Intelligence
If you follow tech news, you might think that Apple is on the verge of collapse. The company is certainly having a hard time with everything AI — while companies like ChatGPT, Google, and Microsoft have jumped on the AI bandwagon, Apple’s AI department is in disarray . Some features like Clean Up and Writing Tools have made their way into products like the iPhone, but others (notably the Siri AI overhaul ) are still nowhere to be seen.
Things are, objectively, not great. Apple touted these features alongside the iPhone 16 line, even casting The Last of Us’s Bella Ramsey in an ad showcasing said AI-powered Siri. (The ad has since been pulled.) While the rest of the tech industry seems entirely focused on AI, Apple is uncharacteristically struggling to keep up. Things must be bad for the company, right?
iPhone continues to sell like hotcakes
While I’m not here to read the company’s entire pulse, it looks like the iPhone division is still crushing it. On Wednesday, research firm Counterpoint released its list of the best-selling smartphones in the first quarter of 2025 . Perhaps unsurprisingly, the iPhone topped the list: Apple’s iPhone 16 was the best-selling smartphone worldwide in the first fiscal quarter of this year, followed by the 16 Pro Max, 16 Pro, and iPhone 15. Apple also took the top four spots in the first quarter of 2024 — then the 15 Pro Max was in first place, followed by the 15, 15 Pro, and 14.
Samsung took the next three spots, just like it did in Q1 2024. This year, the Galaxy A16 5G came in fifth, followed by the Galaxy A06 and Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Redmi 14C 4G came in eighth — impressive for a phone that isn’t even sold in the U.S. — followed by the Galaxy A55 5G and, finally, the iPhone 16 Plus.
There’s a lot to take away from this data. The first impression is that the iPhone continues to be a global force to be reckoned with. The iPhone had five of the top ten spots in both Q1 2024 and Q2 2025 – the only difference between the two was that the iPhone 15 Plus was eighth and the 16 Plus was tenth. Samsung is also clearly still the reigning champion in the global smartphone race, though it’s gone from five phones in the top ten to four in those two years – good for Redmi to steal that eighth spot.
Ecosystems are powerful things
It’s especially interesting to see how the iPhone will continue to behave in 2025. After all, it’s been clear for months that Apple hasn’t delivered on its AI promises for the iPhone 16 lineup. Specifically, Counterpoint reports that the iPhone 16e , the company’s “more affordable” device, was the sixth-best-selling smartphone of March. People are still buying iPhones in droves.
Is it possible that these customers are buying iPhones based on Apple’s past advertising? Sure. The company still advertises Apple Intelligence with every iPhone on its website, so AI could still be driving people’s desire to buy an iPhone. I’m not sure, though. If AI were a priority, I think most customers would buy from companies that are consistently rolling out AI features. Samsung and Google immediately come to mind: Google’s most recent I/O event was all about AI , and you can try out a number of AI features on Android devices made by both companies. Then again, maybe Samsung’s four “top 10” smartphones are the result of its AI efforts. It’s entirely possible, but I’m still not convinced.
I look at this list of the best-selling iPhones and Galaxy phones, and I see one thing: established market trends. I think the truth is that a lot of people like the Galaxy, and even more people like the iPhone. People change phones all the time, especially in the Android ecosystem, but the data shows that when it’s time to buy a new phone, most iPhone users buy a new iPhone, and most Galaxy users buy a new Galaxy. Ecosystems are powerful things, and when you pour your entire digital life into one platform, including all your messaging, shopping, and cloud storage, there’s rarely a desire to mix the two.
That’s me exactly: as much as I respect Android, I’m stuck in the Apple ecosystem, and as such, I only consider a new iPhone when it’s time to upgrade. Almost everyone in my immediate circle is the same way. The Samsung fans I know also stick with this model, only with the latest Galaxy. For me, the decision is never about whether to buy an iPhone or a Galaxy: I choose whether to buy a Pro or a Pro Max.
Enthusiasm for AI Not Strong Enough to Drive Smartphone Sales
AI is undoubtedly a hot topic in tech right now, and people are using it. But I don’t think many people think about it when they buy their devices, especially smartphones. I think people buy a phone they like, then customize it after the fact to access their AI tools. Heck, Apple integrated ChatGPT into my iPhone, and I still have the ChatGPT app. AI features can be useful — it’s great that Apple now has its own version of Magic Eraser — but AI features alone aren’t enough to sway consumers en masse. If OpenAI made a smartphone, would you buy it? My guess is probably not.
If the AI train keeps moving, perhaps people will start buying phones and devices that best integrate AI tools out of the box. Android is way ahead of Apple in this area — just look at Google replacing its Assistant with Gemini — so maybe we’ll see Galaxy phones dominate global sales in future quarters, or even a Pixel or two. Or maybe people will be willing to download the apps they need to get their AI fix and leave other factors in play when choosing which phone to buy.
I can’t predict the future; I can only note what I see in the present. And right now, I see two things at once — I see so many people talking about ChatGPT, and I see so many people buying and using iPhones. Outside of my tech news circles, I haven’t heard a peep about Apple’s struggles in the AI race.