iPhone 17 pre-orders are up and overall phone sales aren’t slowing down despite the tariffs

Despite tariffs and uncertainty in the global market Smartphone Shipments rose 2.6% in the third quarter of 2025, compared to the same period last year, according to the International Data Corporation. In addition, pre-orders for iPhone 17which launched last month, outperforming last year’s iPhone 16.

These increasing sales include premium phones such as the latest iPhones and Samsung FoldableWhich again indicates that higher priced phones are still sold during periods of economic stress. It’s a remarkable achievement, says Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC, pointing to smart financing options as the reason people continue to buy these high-end phones, which cost from $800 to nearly $2,000.

“(Phone makers) have mastered the art of innovating not only in hardware and software to entice upgrades but also in removing purchase friction. They have flawlessly combined cutting-edge hardware with innovative financing models and robust trade-in software that makes the upgrade decision a ‘no-brainer’ for consumers,” Bhopal said in an IDC press release.

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Apple sold 58.6 million iPhone This quarter, an increase of 2.9% compared to the same period in 2024, with pre-orders for the iPhone 17 series increasing compared to its predecessor. But Samsung wasn’t far behind Galaxy Z Fold 7 and Galaxy Z Flip 7 It sold better than all of the company’s previous foldable devices. The company is still at the top of the phone market, as it sold 61.4 million phones, representing 19% of the market in the third quarter of this year, an increase of 6.3% over the same period last year. Meanwhile, Apple is slightly behind Samsung with 18.2% market share in the quarter.

Other phone makers trailing Apple and Samsung are, in order: Xiaomi, with 13.5% of the market; 9% conversion; and Vivo by 8.9%. The remaining companies in the phone industry, from Chinese companies such as Oppo and Honor to Motorola and Google, constitute the remaining 31.4% of the market for this quarter. In all, 322.7 million phones were sold, up from 314.6 million in the third quarter of 2024, according to IDC.

IDC’s third-quarter results continue the modest but steady growth in phone sales over the year, including a modest 1% increase in the previous three months — which includes the April deadline when President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping tariffs. In the second quarter, IDC pointed to mid-range devices such as Samsung devices Galaxy A36 And other phones that are starting to integrate artificial intelligence. But even the ongoing tariffs didn’t slow people’s appetite for higher-priced phones in the third quarter.