Samsung and Apple gain share at the top while the mass market contracts sharply.
BOSTON, July 13, 2026 – The global smartphone market shrank 6.7% year-on-year to 277.5 million units in the second quarter of 2026 (2Q26), according to the preliminary data from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, The memory crisis continues to disrupt the smartphone market with unprecedented costs and strained supply, with Q2 2026 marking the second quarter of consecutive year-on-year decline.
“Memory costs are up nearly 300% from a year ago, and now account for over 65% of BOM at the low end, making survival increasingly difficult for OEMs with low-end portfolios,” said Nabila Popal, senior research director for Worldwide Consumer Devices, IDC. “Q2 confirms exactly what we predicted: this is not a uniform downturn; memory crisis is favoring premium players and punishing vendors exposed to the low end. For the second consecutive quarter, Apple and Samsung showed resilience as the only two vendors in the Top 5 posting growth. Apple achieved record high Q2 shipments driven by momentum for the iPhone 17 and fear of upcoming price hikes, keeping Apple on track for a record 22% annual share this year. Low-end vendors are doing their best to adjust strategy, cut costs, and shift their portfolios toward higher margin devices; however, the challenge isn’t strategy – it’s creating demand for these traditionally low-end brands at higher price segments. Consumers are increasingly opting for a premium brand when the price gap reduces, and financing is readily available.”
“The second quarter of 2026 brought a widening gap between the top and bottom of the market. Samsung and Apple both grew shipments and widened their lead, lifting their share by 3.2 and 3.8 percentage points, respectively,” said Francisco Jeronimo, vice president for Worldwide Client Devices, IDC. “This memory crisis has split the smartphone market in two. At the top, Apple and Samsung are pulling away, because they secured supply early and sell where memory is a smaller share of the bill of materials (BOM). At the bottom, the vendors exposed to cheap, high-volume devices are absorbing the pain and so are their customers. This is a crisis that rewards scale, supply relationships and a premium mix,” he added.
“The rankings for Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo remained unchanged from last quarter, but the pace of decline accelerated among Chinese vendors, with most large players falling by double digits YoY,” said Kiranjeet Kaur, associate research director for Worldwide Consumer Devices, IDC. “The sub-$200 segment remains a critical volume driver for them, prompting many to repackage older models or fall back on 4G variants to defend this price band while managing other rising costs. Xiaomi once again posted the steepest decline among the top players as it deliberately trims low-end volume to preserve profitability and shifts focus toward higher price segments. Huawei stands apart, posting 20.9% YoY growth by holding prices steady in China as the Android competition raised prices, running targeted promotions, leveraging strong brand loyalty in its domestic market, and widening its lineup to cover more of the price spectrum.”
| Top 5 Companies, Worldwide Smartphone Shipments, Market Share, and Year-Over-Year Growth, Q2 2026 (Preliminary results, shipments in millions of units) | |||||
| Company | 2Q26 Shipments | 2Q26 Market Share | 2Q25 Shipments | 2Q25 Market Share | Year-Over-Year Change |
| 1. Samsung | 62.7 | 22.6% | 58.0 | 19.5% | 8.1% |
| 2. Apple | 55.8 | 20.1% | 48.4 | 16.3% | 15.3% |
| 3. Xiaomi | 31.2 | 11.2% | 42.4 | 14.2% | -26.3% |
| 4. OPPO | 28.8 | 10.4% | 34.9 | 11.7% | -17.5% |
| 5. vivo | 21.2 | 7.6% | 26.3 | 8.9% | -19.4% |
| Others | 77.8 | 28.0% | 87.4 | 29.4% | -11.0% |
| Total | 277.5 | 100.0% | 297.4 | 100.0% | -6.7% |
| Source: IDC Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, July 13, 2026 | |||||
Table Notes:
- Data are preliminary and subject to change.
- Company shipments are branded device shipments and exclude OEM sales for all vendors.
- The “Company” represents the current parent company (or holding company) for all brands owned and operated as a subsidiary.
- Figures represent new shipments only and exclude refurbished units.
- *IDC declares a statistical tie in the Smartphone market when there is a difference of one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) or less in the shipment shares among two or more companies.
IDC Tracker products provide accurate and timely market size, vendor share, and forecasts for hundreds of technology markets from more than 100 countries around the globe. Using proprietary tools and research processes, IDC’s Trackers are updated on a semiannual, quarterly, and monthly basis. Tracker results are delivered to clients in user-friendly Excel deliverables and on-line query tools. For more information about IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, please contact Jackie Kliem at 508-988-7984 and jkliem@idc.com.
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