Global Phone Shipments Fall 4%, But Samsung, Apple Gain Ground

Global smartphone shipments declined by 4 per cent in the second quarter of 2026 as an ongoing shortage of memory and storage components continued to disrupt supply chains and increase manufacturing costs, according to a new report by market research firm Omdia. Despite the overall market contraction, Samsung retained its position as the world's largest smartphone vendor, while Apple recorded the strongest year-on-year growth among leading manufacturers. The report attributes the industry's slowdown largely to the continuing shortage of DRAM and NAND memory chips, which have become increasingly scarce due to strong demand from artificial intelligence data centres.

Omdia said the global memory crisis has significantly affected smartphone production, forcing manufacturers to contend with higher component prices and constrained supplies. The research firm noted that companies have adopted different strategies to manage the situation, leading to growing disparities in market performance. According to the report, variations in product portfolios, pricing strategies, manufacturing scale and target customer segments have contributed to an increasingly polarised smartphone market.

Samsung maintained the top position with a global smartphone market share of 22 per cent during the April–June quarter, representing a two percentage point increase compared with the same period last year. Omdia attributed the South Korean company's performance to resilient consumer demand, stable product availability and the delayed launch of the Galaxy S26 series, which shifted a portion of anticipated sales into the second quarter. The report also stated that Samsung strengthened its position in the budget smartphone segment as several Chinese competitors adopted more cautious market strategies.

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Apple secured the second position with a 20 per cent global market share, recording the largest annual increase among major smartphone brands. The report described the quarter as Apple's strongest second-quarter performance to date, driven by robust demand for the iPhone 17 series and an ongoing device upgrade cycle. Omdia also suggested that Apple benefited from maintaining relatively stable pricing while several competing manufacturers increased handset prices in response to rising production costs.

Among Chinese manufacturers, Xiaomi ranked third with an 11 per cent market share, including shipments under the Redmi and Poco brands, compared with 15 per cent in the corresponding quarter of 2025. Oppo, including shipments of OnePlus devices, held the fourth position with a 10 per cent market share, reflecting a two percentage point decline year-on-year. Vivo and its sub-brand iQOO jointly accounted for 8 per cent of global shipments, down from 9 per cent a year earlier.

The findings underscore the continuing impact of the global semiconductor and memory supply imbalance on the smartphone industry. While the surge in AI infrastructure investment has created sustained demand for memory components, smartphone manufacturers have faced increasing production costs and supply constraints. Omdia expects these challenges to continue influencing market dynamics, with companies' ability to secure component supplies and manage pricing likely to play a decisive role in their competitive performance over the coming quarters.

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