Sales of smartphones reached their peak so far last year, based on preliminary data compiled by market research firm IDC.

According to IDC's figures, global smartphone manufacturers shipped a total of 1.43 billion units in 2015, which represents a 10.1 percent increase compared to the previous year and the record for the most number of smartphones sold in a year.

The record figures were boosted by strong demand during the holidays, as sales in the fourth quarter increased by 5.7 percent to a total of 399.5 million smartphones sold.

The top five smartphone companies of 2015, the IDC reported, are Samsung, Apple, Huawei, Lenovo and Xioami, in that order. For the year, Samsung shipped 324.8 million units for growth of 2.1 percent, Apple shipped 231.5 million units for growth of 20.2 percent, Huawei shipped 106.6 million units for growth of 44.3 percent, Lenovo shipped 74.0 million units for growth of 24.5 percent and Xiaomi shipped 70.8 million units for growth of 22.8 percent.

The total shipments made by all other smartphone companies in the world were reported at 625.2 million units for growth of 4.2 percent.

The big winner for 2015 among the smartphone companies, a title traditionally conferred to either Samsung or Apple, goes to Huawei.

"Usually the conversation in the smartphone market revolves around Samsung and Apple, but Huawei's strong showing for both the quarter and the year speak to how much it has grown as an international brand," said IDC senior research manager Melissa Chau.

In addition to coming in as third among top-selling smartphone manufacturers for the year and posting the highest growth rates among the top five, Huawei also posted the highest quarterly growth for shipments with a 37 percent increase in sales for the fourth quarter of last year. Huawei has also become only the fourth mobile phone company to ever ship over 100 million units over a single year, the IDC claimed.

Despite record results for 2015, the future may not be a good one for smartphone manufacturers, as market research form Gartner expects shipments of smartphones to increase by only 2.6 percent this year with falling revenues.

Apple, which expects to report the first sales decline for iPhones, however still believes in the long-term potential of markets such as China, where the company's expansion is said to be continuing despite the reported pessimism in the smartphone industry.