IPhone 16 Claims the Title of Best Selling Smartphone in India in 2025: Report

-Carlsen Martin

Updated: Tuesday, December 30, 2025, 9:10 [IST]

Apple’s iPhone 16 has become India’s top-selling smartphone in 2025, surpassing cheaper Android models and signalling a sharp shift in what buyers choose in the world’s second-largest phone market, according to Counterpoint Research data cited in a Mint report.

Between January and November 2025, Apple sold about 6.5 million iPhone 16 units in India. During the same period, Vivo’s budget-focused Y29 5G recorded shipments of 4.7 million units, leaving a sizeable volume gap despite the large difference in pricing between the two phones.

iPhone 16 India: Premium Models Dominate Bestseller Charts

The iPhone 16 costs more than three times as much as the Vivo Y29 5G, yet still leads the charts. The previous-generation iPhone 15 has also secured a spot among the five best-selling smartphones this year, even though its starting price is around Rs 47,000.

By contrast, the Vivo Y29 5G is priced near Rs 14,000, placing it firmly in the budget category. The popularity of both the iPhone 16 and iPhone 15 suggests that many Indian buyers are now willing to spend more for premium devices than in earlier years.

iPhone 16 India: Sales, Prices and Market Share

Wider access to no-cost EMIs, cashbacks and bank-led finance schemes has helped shift demand. These offers spread payments across many months, making higher-priced phones like the iPhone 16 feel affordable for a larger base of urban and semi-urban customers across India.

According to the report, the combined share of the iPhone 15 and iPhone 16 reached around 8% of all smartphones sold in India up to November 2025. That is a notable figure, given that both devices sit firmly in the premium segment rather than the entry or mid-range tiers.

Manufacturing Push and Flat Market Backdrop

Apple’s gains with the iPhone 16 also tie into a broader India strategy. The company has scaled up local manufacturing to reduce dependence on China and to treat India as a key growth market, not only a production hub for exports.

Retail expansion reflects that shift. During 2025, Apple opened three new Apple Stores in Bengaluru, Pune and Noida. This brought its total number of official stores in India to five, giving the brand more direct contact with customers across multiple metropolitan regions.

The broader smartphone market in India is expected to stay almost flat in 2025. Total shipments are projected at about 158 million units, only slightly above last year, which would mark the fourth straight year of low single-digit growth for the sector, according to the report.

Within this sluggish environment, the rise of the iPhone 16 as India’s best-selling smartphone, along with strong performance from the iPhone 15, underlines how consumer behaviour is changing, with more buyers opting for premium devices even as overall shipment growth remains modest.