Apple may ship a whopping 247 million iPhones in 2025 thanks to the "phenomenal success" of iPhone 17. The new iPhones have also led to Apple reclaiming its lost market share in China.
Post the launch of iPhone 17, Apple grabbed 20% market share in China, "miles ahead of the competition," says an IDC report.
Apple has seen strong demand for the iPhone 17 lineup since its launch in September. Multiple reports, including Apple itself, have confirmed the robust demand.
The company is on track for its best-ever holiday quarter, driven largely by iPhone 17, with a projected revenue of $140 billion.
An IDC report further corroborates the iPhone 17's success. It believes Apple will ship a record 247 million iPhones this year. That could help the company surpass Samsung and become the world's largest smartphone maker. Apple last took the top spot in terms of volume in 2011.
Demand for the new iPhones has been so strong that it will turn a previously projected 1% decline in iPhone sales in China into a 3% annual growth.
Even in Western Europe and the US, iPhone sales have rebounded after slowing earlier in the year.
Despite the launch of its first foldable iPhone next year, IDC believes overall iPhone sales will decline in 2026. It expects iPhone shipments to fall by 4.2%. This will be due to several reasons, including Apple shifting the base iPhone 18 launch to Q1 2027.
Ongoing supply-chain challenges -- such as rising NAND and storage prices and their significant shortage -- will also have an impact. It may force Apple to increase prices next year, something which it could avoid this year.
In 2027, IDC again expects iPhone shipments to rebound by a strong 5.4%.