No One Is Buying Phones for AI

If you’re entrenched in tech news, you’d think Apple was on the brink of collapse. The company undoubtedly is having a rough go of all things AI—while companies like ChatGPT, Google, and Microsoft have hit the AI ground running, Apple’s AI department is in disarray. Some features, like Clean Up and Writing Tools, have made their way to products like the iPhone, but, others (notably Siri’s AI overhaul) are still nowhere to be seen.

The situation is, objectively, not great. Apple advertised these features alongside the iPhone 16 line, even casting The Last of Us’ Bella Ramsey in a commercial showing off said AI-powered Siri. (The commercial has since been deleted.) While the rest of the tech industry seems to be entirely focused on AI, Apple is, uncharacteristically, struggling to keep up. Things must be dire for the company, right?

The iPhone continues to sell like hot cakes

While I’m not here to read the company’s entire pulse, it does seem like the iPhone department is still crushing it. On Wednesday, market research firm Counterpoint released its list of the top-selling smartphones in Q1 of 2025. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the iPhone topped the list: Apple’s iPhone 16 was the best-selling smartphone in the world in the first fiscal quarter of this year, followed by the 16 Pro Max, 16 Pro, and iPhone 15. Apple also had the top four spots in the first quarter of 2024—back then, it was the 15 Pro Max in first place, followed by the 15, 15 Pro, and 14.

Samsung took the next three spots, as it did in Q1 of 2024 as well. This year, it was the Galaxy A16 5G in fifth place, followed by the Galaxy A06 and the Galaxy S25 Ultra. The Redmi 14C 4G came in eighth—impressive for a smartphone 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 you can take away from the data here. The first impression is that the iPhone continues to be a global force to be reckoned with. The iPhone had five of the top 10 spots in both Q1 2024 and 2025—the only difference between them was the iPhone 15 Plus came in eighth place, while the 16 Plus came in 10th. Samsung, too, is clearly still a reigning champ in the global smartphone race, though it went from five phones in the top 10 to four between those two years—good for Redmi for stealing that eighth place spot.

Ecosystems are powerful things

It’s particularly interesting to see the iPhone continue perform like this in 2025. After all, it’s been apparent for months now that Apple did not follow through on its advertised AI promises for the iPhone 16 line. To wit, Counterpoint says that the iPhone 16e, the company’s “more affordable” device, ranked sixth in the top selling smartphones of March. People are continuing to buy iPhones in droves.

Is it possible these customers are buying iPhones based on Apple’s past advertisements? Sure. The company still advertises Apple Intelligence with each iPhone on its site, so AI could still be driving people’s desires to buy iPhones. I’m not convinced, though. If AI were a priority, I think most customers would be buying from the companies that have been rolling out AI features at a steady clip. Samsung and Google immediately come to mind: Google’s latest I/O event was all about AI, and you can experience a number of AI features on Android devices made by both companies. Again, maybe Samsung’s four “top 10” smartphones are a result of its AI efforts. It’s entirely possible, but I continue to be unconvinced.

I see this list of best-selling iPhones and Galaxies, and I see one thing: established market trends. I think the truth is, a lot of people like Galaxies, and even more people like iPhones. People switch phones all the time, especially in the Android ecosystem, but based on the data, it seems like 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’ve poured your entire digital life into one platform—including all the messaging, purchases, and cloud storage—it’s rare you want to mix it up.

That’s me to a T: As much as I respect Android, I’m stuck in the Apple ecosystem, and, as such, really only consider a new iPhone when it comes time to upgrade. Almost every single person in my immediate circle is the same way. The Samsung fans I know also stick to the pattern, just with the newest Galaxy. The decision for me is never whether to buy an iPhone or a Galaxy: it’s whether to buy the Pro or the Pro Max.

AI enthusiasm isn’t strong enough to drive smartphone sales

AI is without a doubt the trend in tech right now, and people are using it. But I don’t think many are considering it when buying their devices—especially smartphones. I think people buy the phone they like, and then configure it after the fact to access their AI tools. Hell, Apple integrated ChatGPT into my iPhone, and I still have the ChatGPT app. AI features can be useful—it’s great that Apple has its own version of Magic Eraser now—but AI features alone aren’t enough to sway customers en masse. If OpenAI made a smartphone, would you buy it? I’m guessing probably not.

If the AI train continues on, maybe people will start buying the phones and devices that best integrate AI tools out of the box. Android is way ahead of Apple on this front—just look at Google replacing its assistant with Gemini—so perhaps we’ll see Galaxy phones take more of a lead in global sales in future quarters, or even an appearance from a Pixel or two. Or, maybe people are fine downloading the apps they need to get their AI fix, and leaving other factors in play when choosing a phone to buy.

I can’t predict the future; I can only note what I see in the present. And, right now, I’m seeing two things at once—I’m seeing a lot of people talking about ChatGPT, and I’m seeing a lot of people buying and using iPhones. Outside of my tech news circles, I’ve heard not a peep about Apple’s struggles in the AI race.