Best-Selling 5G Phones

The short story: 5G is no longer a premium feature; it’s the default. Apple dominates the bestseller lists, Samsung floods the middle with aggressively priced 5G, and Chinese brands like Xiaomi and OPPO push affordability hard enough to pull millions of new users onto 5G—especially in Asia. Meanwhile, carriers keep dangling financing and trade-in subsidies that make “free” 5G phones feel routine in mature markets. The result is a flywheel: better networks → cheaper phones → more usage → faster upgrades. Below is how that flywheel actually turns.

The Moment 5G Went Mainstream

If you want a single marker for when 5G crossed from hype to habit, consider this: the world’s top-selling phone of 2024 was a 5G iPhone. Counterpoint’s model tracker shows iPhone 15 at No. 1 for the year—a simple, powerful signal that 5G sits at the very center of the mass market, not just its premium edge.

Zoom out from a single model to the market as a whole and the pattern holds. In quarterly “Top 10” rundowns during 2024, Apple’s iPhones often filled multiple slots, but the Android model that kept elbowing in was Samsung’s Galaxy A15 5G—a sub-$250 workhorse in many regions that routinely cracked the rankings. That’s today’s 5G in one visual: premium iPhones on top, a budget-friendly Samsung anchoring the middle, and a rotating cast of value models nibbling at the edges.

This is exactly what a mature technology curve looks like. The premium end normalizes the feature (Apple makes 5G table stakes), and the value end weaponizes it (Samsung, Xiaomi, and OPPO make 5G cost-effective). By late 2024, North America’s 5G adoption had already reached ~60% of connections, with GSMA expecting 90% by decade’s end. Europe closed 2024 at about 30% of connections on 5G—more uneven, but on a similar upward slope. Asia is a two-speed story: China and developed APAC are far along, while the broader region accelerates from a lower base toward ~50% 5G connections by 2030.

Who’s Selling What: Leaders by Model and Brand

Apple: “Best-seller” Is a 5G Synonym

From 2020 onward, every flagship iPhone has shipped with 5G. That matters because Apple owns the bestseller lists. Counterpoint’s 2024 wrap crowned iPhone 15 the world’s top-selling smartphone, which—because all modern iPhones are 5G—also makes it the world’s most popular 5G device.

Beneath that headline is a familiar Apple story: brand gravity, resale value, and a web of carrier deals that slice the upfront price to near zero for many buyers. These promotions are not theoretical—they’re a weekly fixture in the U.S. market, with carriers routinely advertising “free” iPhones via trade-in credits and high-tier plan commitments. (In 2024–2025, T-Mobile, Verizon and others ran offers that knocked $800–$1,100 off new iPhones under specific plan conditions.)

Samsung: A15 5G and the Power of the Middle

If Apple set the 5G baseline at the top, Samsung democratized it in the middle. The Galaxy A15 5G kept appearing in 2024’s quarterly top-seller lists, often ahead of far pricier flagships. In Counterpoint-sourced rundowns, the A15 5G beat out older iPhones at times and joined other value Samsungs like the A35/A55 in the top 10. The message: reliable 5G at $200–$300 can outsell halo products by sheer volume.

Xiaomi, OPPO (and Vivo): Value 5G at Scale

China’s brands pressed the advantage in emerging markets by bundling credible cameras, big batteries, and 5G radios at almost implausible prices. A landmark moment came when Xiaomi’s Redmi 13C 5G elbowed into a global top-10 list in 2024—a first for a “budget 5G” phone category, per Counterpoint-based coverage.

Brand-level share data underscores their momentum. By Q2 2025, Xiaomi held ~14% global share (No. 3), vivo was near 9%, and Transsion (with ultra-value brands across Africa and parts of Asia) hovered around 8–9%. In other words, the world’s third, fourth, and fifth forces are all deeply invested in affordable 5G.

Why These Phones Win: Four Levers of 5G Dominance

1) Price: The Floor Keeps Falling

In the markets that add the most new 5G users each year, price crushes everything else. India is the case study: 5G’s share of shipments hit ~79% in 2024, and the average selling price of a 5G phone fell ~19% to about $303. IDC’s tally even named the year’s most shipped 5G models: Redmi 13C, iPhone 15, vivo Y28, iPhone 13, and vivo T3X—a mix that spans budget to premium.

Meanwhile, Counterpoint observed that one-quarter of budget smartphones were already 5G by mid-2024, and the Redmi 13C 5G’s cameo in the global top-10 shows buyers will jump to 5G when the math is right.

2) Performance: Enough Power Everywhere

A funny thing happened as 5G cheapened: performance did not crater. Mid-range chipsets from MediaTek and Qualcomm now deliver more than enough speed for social video, gaming, and AI-flavored features—especially when 5G download speeds routinely exceed 4G by large margins. At a global level, GSMA Intelligence reported average 5G download speeds around ~230 Mbps by end-2023, and U.S. tests in 2025 had T-Mobile users seeing ~250 Mbps on 5G. Builders don’t need 3-nanometer silicon to sell a good 5G experience anymore.

3) Design: Flagship Cues, Mid-Tier Budgets

Look at the A-series Galaxies or Redmi mid-rangers and you see flagship aesthetics: multi-sensor cameras, large AMOLEDs, 120 Hz displays, long-life batteries, and surprisingly thin frames. These touches flatten the perceived gap between a $250 phone and a $900 one. That’s critical because perception—how “premium” the phone feels in hand—often closes the sale as much as benchmark numbers ever could.

4) Distribution & Carrier Partnerships: The Installment Machine

In the U.S., “best-selling” is inseparable from carrier financing. Zero-interest monthly payments, bill-credit trade-ins, and “free with unlimited plan” banners are now as much a part of the hardware stack as modems and antennas. The offers shift every quarter, but the structural truth doesn’t: subsidies pull forward 5G upgrades and hold customers in richer plans where the economics work for carriers. (Examples of $800–$1,100 credits on current iPhones popped up repeatedly in 2024–2025 across T-Mobile, Verizon and others.)

In China, a different mechanism—festival discounts and government-backed trade-in incentives—likewise spurred iPhone sales during the 618 shopping season, according to coverage of Counterpoint and LSEG tallies. Same effect, different route: policy and promotions accelerate 5G turnover.

Regional Snapshots: The Geography of 5G Adoption

United States: 5G by Default

By late 2024, ~60% of North American connections were 5G, on track for ~90% by 2030—the fastest 5G migration of any major region. Speeds help the story: Opensignal’s mid-2025 testing showed T-Mobile leading with ~252 Mbps 5G download averages, a level sufficient to make streaming, cloud gaming, and large app updates feel instant. Tie that performance to aggressive trade-in financing, and it’s easy to see why even “casual” users land on 5G.

The brand breakdown is familiar—Apple on top, Samsung second—but the middle of the market (A-series Galaxies, Motorola G/Edge models, older iPhones) remains where carrier promos harvest the most upgrades. In other words: the U.S. is “premium-heavy” in brand share, but “mid-range-heavy” in promotional energy.

Europe: Steady, Uneven, and Getting Cheaper

Europe ended 2024 with ~30% of connections on 5G (200+ million links) and several leaders—Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, the UK—north of 40% adoption. The continental pattern mirrors the U.S. structurally (operators push financing; buyers trade up) but with more variation across markets due to spectrum timing, competitive intensity, and economic conditions. The direction of travel is clear: more coverage, more standalone (SA) 5G, and falling 5G device prices that expand the addressable base.

Asia: Two Speeds, One Outcome

Asia is where 5G becomes truly mass. In Greater China, premium and value both sell in volume—iPhone 15/16 on the high end, Huawei/Vivo/OPPO/Xiaomi across the rest—and vendor share can swing quarter to quarter. In Q2 2025 China, for example, Huawei topped vendor share even as Apple hovered near the top, per Counterpoint and Reuters—proof the market is both enormous and fiercely contested.

Outside China, India is the big engine. Multiple trackers show India overtook the U.S. as the second-largest 5G smartphone market in 2024, propelled by a wave of $150–$300 5G models from Xiaomi, Vivo, Samsung and others, and by rapid build-outs from Jio and Airtel. With 5G at ~79% of shipments and ASPs down to ~$300, India looks like a template for the next billion users.

Broader Asia-Pacific will accelerate from here; GSMA pegs the region’s 5G share climbing from ~18% in 2024 to ~50% by 2030, aided by hundreds of billions in operator capex. That’s the supply side. On the demand side are millions of first-time 5G buyers finding credible devices under the $250 line.

What 5G Changes About How People Use Phones

Always-On Video (and Everything Built on It)

When your phone reliably pulls 200–300 Mbps on 5G, you don’t think about connectivity; you assume it. That flips behavior. Short-form video is “background radiation,” video calls spike in quality, and downloading a big game while you commute goes from “maybe later on Wi-Fi” to “sure, now.” GSMA’s measuring sticks put 5G’s average download experience well beyond 4G, and real-world operator tests in the U.S. show quarter-gigabit speeds as routine on leading networks.

The App Layer Quietly Gets Heavier

With bandwidth comes bloat—in a good way. Apps confidently embed richer media and AI features because the pipe can handle it. The old mobile constraint—“keep it tiny for slow links”—is fading for 5G users. That’s one reason you’ve seen GenAI-branded features trickle into mass-market phones, and why analysts expect most phones over $250 to ship with on-device AI by the late 2020s.

Cloud-Edge Hybrids Start to Make Sense

A decade ago, mobile “cloud gaming” and real-time cloud photo pipelines felt aspirational. On robust 5G, with low-to-mid tens of milliseconds of latency and beefy uplinks, they feel usable. True, upload speeds still lag download speeds and need improvement to unlock some creator and enterprise use cases, but the general trajectory is clear: 5G shifts more compute to the edge and the cloud.

How Carriers and OEMs Turn 5G Into Sales

The Carrier Math: Bigger Plans, Stickier Customers

In the U.S., most “best-selling 5G phones” ride a 36-month bill-credit wave. Carriers offer outsized credits if you trade a recent device and jump to a premium unlimited plan. The new phone looks free; the plan locks in revenue. Whether it’s a free iPhone 16 Pro for switchers or four-figure iPhone 17 credits, the mechanism is the same and it works—fast turnover, happier networks (new radios), and stickier subscribers.

The OEM Math: Fewer Compromises at $200–$400

On the Android side, value 5G is no longer code for compromises. You can now buy a sub-$300 phone with a 120 Hz OLED, 5,000 mAh battery, 50 MP main camera, and three years of platform updates. That’s why A15 5G and Redmi 13C 5G punch far above their weight in rankings, and why brands keep trimming model portfolios to focus on a handful of hits. (Counterpoint noted the budget segment’s model count nearly halved vs. 2018, a sign of consolidation around winners.)

The Competitive Balance: Premium Gravity vs. Volume Gravity

• Apple wins the premium race and—by sheer volume of those premium units—often wins the entire race. Its 5G story is less about radio specs and more about ecosystem gravity, resale value, and carrier finance pipes that make Pro-tier devices feel accessible. When Apple’s model sits atop the global list, it drags 5G along with it.

• Samsung owns the middle. The A15 5G in 2024 was emblematic: priced for scale, spec’d to satisfy, and distributed everywhere. The S-series carries the banner; the A-series carries the numbers.

• Xiaomi/OPPO/vivo own affordability in Asia (and parts of EMEA), offering credible 5G at improbable prices. A third-place Xiaomi globally, and a Redmi model entering the global top-10, make the point.

• Huawei has rebuilt domestic momentum in China—enough to top a 2025 quarter—showing that even within a single region, 5G leadership can rotate quickly depending on supply, channels, and policy winds.

What “Best-Selling” Actually Looks Like by Region

U.S.

• Leader models: Latest iPhones, plus mid-range Samsungs.

• Why they win: Financing and trade-ins flatten the price cliff; 5G speeds are consistently high enough that users actually notice the upgrade.

• Tell: Launch weeks bring promotions that can make $1,000 phones feel “free.” That swells the premium mix even as mid-range volumes remain essential.

Europe

• Leader models: iPhones in the top slots; value 5G from Samsung and Xiaomi filling the middle.

• Why they win: Financing is common but varies by country; 5G adoption is climbing fast from a lower base (~30% at end-2024).

• Tell: Countries with earlier SA rollouts and stronger competition see quicker 5G upgrade cycles.

Asia

• Leader models: In China, iPhones at the high end and multiple domestic brands across segments; in India, value 5G dominates unit volumes.

• Why they win: Aggressive pricing, festival promotions, and huge addressable bases. India’s 5G share hit ~79% of shipments in 2024 as ASPs collapsed toward $300.

• Tell: India overtook the U.S. as the world’s No. 2 5G smartphone market in 2024—a demand shock that tilts global product strategy toward $150–$300 5G phones.

5G Networks: The Demand Engine Behind the Leaderboard

Phones sell faster when networks feel tangibly faster. Two technical shifts matter:

1. Coverage + Capacity: As mid-band spectrum (n77/n78) and C-band deployments densify, more users see the “always fast” version of 5G rather than the early, spotty version. Globally, GSMA tallies showed 5G speeds meaningfully outpacing 4G by end-2023, and in the U.S. 2025 tests put leading 5G download averages in the ~250 Mbps zone—“Wi-Fi fast” in most people’s minds.

2. Standalone (SA) 5G: SA cuts anchor from 4G cores and unlocks latency/throughput benefits that make cloud-heavy apps and live video feel snappier. As SA coverage expands in Europe and Asia through the second half of the decade, more buyers will “feel” 5G, not just read a logo. (Industry updates from GSMA and partners consistently show SA deployments broadening through 2024–2026.)

The loop is simple: investment raises user experience; user experience pulls upgrades; upgrades justify more investment.

The Next Wave of Best-Sellers: AI-Ready and Surprisingly Affordable

If the last five years were about radios, the next five are about on-device intelligence riding those radios. Analysts expect the majority of smartphones above $250 to ship with generative-AI capabilities by the late 2020s, which dovetails neatly with the price bands that already dominate 5G unit volumes. That future flows naturally from 5G: when bandwidth and latency become invisible, software can be conspicuously heavier—live transcription, translation, image generation, and proactive assistants.

On the cost side, the lesson of 2024 is unavoidable: mass-market 5G got a lot cheaper, a lot faster. India’s shift toward an ~$300 ASP for 5G handsets, with sub-$200 models doubling their share inside 5G, is exactly the kind of price-curve bend that turns “adoption” into “saturation.” Expect those economics to wash across Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America as component costs decline and refurbished 5G flows expand.

Bottom Line: Why These Phones Keep Winning

• 5G is now the default, not a differentiator. The world’s No. 1 model of 2024 (iPhone 15) was 5G; buyers implicitly expect that radio in every new phone.

• Affordability unlocked the floodgates. When a credible 5G phone costs $200–$300—and 5G ASPs fall toward ~$300 in huge markets—adoption becomes a budget decision, not a technology decision.

• Carriers and channels do the heavy lifting. Financing, trade-ins, and “free with plan” promos accelerate replacement cycles in mature markets; festival discounts and trade-in schemes do the same in China and India.

• Networks finally feel fast—consistently enough that people notice. That makes the 5G upgrade a lived experience, not just a spec sheet.

• AI-ready is the new premium cue. As on-device AI spills into mid-range prices, the next crop of best-selling 5G phones will be the ones that blend long battery life, great cameras, and “smart enough” features at mainstream prices.

In short: Apple sets the tone at the top, Samsung scales the middle, and value brands make 5G unavoidable everywhere else. With networks maturing and prices falling, the best-selling 5G phones of the next few years will look a lot like today’s winners—just a little smarter, a little cheaper, and sold in even bigger numbers.