The choice of which smartphone to buy often boils down to a toss up between whether you prefer Apple’s iPhone or a device that runs Android. If you’re in the latter camp then you’re spoiled for choice, with scores of phones of all prices, shapes and sizes available. Despite the wealth of choice, Samsung remains the most popular Android brand worldwide, but it still can’t match the dominance of the iPhone when it comes to the most popular handsets.

That’s according to the latest numbers from Counterpoint Research. The analyst firm crunched the numbers and found the best selling smartphone for the first three months of 2024 worldwide was the iPhone 15 Pro Max, accounting for 4.4 percent of all phones sold around the globe over those three months.

It’s a remarkable stat considering this is the most expensive iPhone in the latest range, beating the sales figures of the cheaper iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro. What’s more, the highest selling Samsung handset was also the firm’s flagship, the Galaxy S24 Ultra, which was the fifth best selling phone with 1.9 percent of total world sales just behind the older iPhone 14.

In fact, all the ten top selling phone models in the list were made by either Apple or Samsung, with no room for another Android manufacturer anywhere. It goes to show just how popular Samsung is with Android phone buyers - but also highlights Apple’s dominance when it comes to the popularity of its handsets.

These figures don’t tell the whole story though - despite Apple shipping the four best-selling phone models, Samsung actually overtook Apple for the period when it comes to overall number of phones sold. Samsung phones accounted for 20 percent of all phones sold worldwide in the first three months of 2024, whereas Apple accounted for 17 percent. This represents a swift swap after Apple sold more phones in the last three months of 2023.

The world’s third best selling phone brand was Xiaomi with 14 percent followed by Oppo with 8 percent and then Vivo with 7 percent.

The other Samsung phones in the top ten best selling phones list were the Galaxy A15 5G, Galaxy A54, Galaxy S24, and Galaxy A34. Aside from the regular S24, three of these models are entry-level to mid-range priced devices, showing Samsung is still a go-to for phone buyers on various budgets.

“Samsung’s Galaxy S24 series secured two spots in the top 10 for Q1 2024, with its Ultra variant ranking fifth and the base variant coming in ninth,” Counterpoint said in a press release. “The strong performance of the S24 series can be attributed to Samsung’s early refresh of the series, and its efforts in generative AI (GenAI) technology. The S24 series was the first to reach the market with GenAI features and capabilities, allowing users to create unique content and experience a new level of interaction with their smartphones.”

“The growing popularity of the Apple Pro line-up was evident, as it captured half of Apple’s total sales in Q1 2024, a significant increase from 24% in Q1 2020,” the firm added. “The iPhone 15 Pro Max performed well despite its first price increase since the launch of the Pro series in 2019, indicating a strong consumer desire for the extra features the Pro line offers.”

Express.co.uk currently ranks the Galaxy S24 Ultra as the best phone money can buy, swiftly followed by the iPhone 15 Pro Max, so our tastes are aligned with the world’s buyers - but these phones are incredibly expensive and not within everyone’s budgets. Check out our best phone list for some recommendations at various price points.