Samsung says 1.2 billion people worldwide currently use Galaxy smartphones, a milestone revealed in a recent video published by Samsung Japan on YouTube.
Why Galaxy phones reach 1.2 billion users
Samsung’s scale stems from product variety, long-running innovation and efforts to make switching easier. Unlike Apple, which launches only premium phones, Samsung covers nearly every price category, from entry-level $150 Galaxy A series models to foldables priced as high as $2,400. The company has introduced several category-defining features and devices since its first Android phone.
Galaxy devices have a history of early and notable innovations: Samsung released its first Android smartphone, the Galaxy GT-I7500, in June 2009; the original Galaxy S in 2010 launched the flagship S line; and the Galaxy Note in 2011 created the mainstream phablet segment with the S Pen. The company later shifted to a metal-and-glass industrial design with the Galaxy S6 series and added services such as Samsung Pay. In 2019 Samsung brought the original Galaxy Fold to market, defining the modern foldable category, and today offers foldables across multiple form factors.
Beyond hardware, Samsung has reduced friction for new users. The Smart Switch app, combined with a simple QR code setup, makes transferring data from an old device straightforward. Cross-platform sharing with iPhone users has also improved through RCS and Quick Share.
Key Galaxy milestones
2009: Galaxy GT-I7500, the first Galaxy phone.
2010: Galaxy S, the first phone in the flagship Galaxy S line.
2011: Galaxy S II, which achieved breakthrough success and surpassed 40 million in cumulative sales.
2011: Galaxy Note, the world’s first mainstream phablet and the first Galaxy device with the S Pen stylus.
2012: Galaxy S III, which surpassed 70 million cumulative units sold.
2014: Galaxy Note Edge, the first Galaxy phone with a curved-edge display.
2015: Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 Edge, the first Galaxy phones featuring a metal-and-glass design and Samsung Pay.
2016: Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 Edge, the first Galaxy phones with an IP68 rating and Dual Pixel camera autofocus.
2017: Galaxy S8 and Galaxy S8+, which introduced Infinity Displays and Samsung DeX.
2018: One UI, Samsung’s modern software interface; that year Samsung also launched the Galaxy S9 series, introducing 4K 60fps video recording to the lineup.
2019: Galaxy Fold, the world’s first commercially available foldable-screen phone.
2020: Galaxy S20 Ultra, the first Galaxy phone with a 108MP camera and 100x Space Zoom.
2024: Galaxy S24 series, the first phones powered by Galaxy AI and the first to offer seven years of major Android OS and security updates.
2026: Galaxy S26 Ultra, the world’s first phone with built-in Privacy Display.
