Global smartphone market declines, Apple and Samsung’s market share increases

The global smartphone market entered 2026 with a decline. According to Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker data shared by IDC, total shipments in the first quarter of the year decreased by 4.1 percent on an annual basis to 289.7 million units. Thus, the growth series that started in mid-2023 and continued for ten quarters ended. This picture reveals that the recovery process in the sector is more fragile than expected.

Problems on the component side play a decisive role in the decline in shipments. Supply problems and increasing costs, especially for storage units, continue to make planning difficult for manufacturers. In addition, global economic conditions and fluctuations in consumer demand are also among the factors that pressure the market. In addition to all this, these problems are not expected to disappear completely in the short term, which creates a cautious outlook for the coming period.

Despite this, the two names at the top of the market continued to grow. Samsung and Apple were the only companies among the top five manufacturers to record annual increases. Samsung regained its leadership position due to the strong demand for the Galaxy S26 Ultra model. It was noteworthy that although the company presented its flagship model later than usual, it increased its shipments by 3.6 percent. In addition, the early expansion of the Galaxy A series, positioned in the middle segment, was among the factors that kept the total shipment volume balanced.

Apple maintained its second place. The intense interest shown in the iPhone 17 series, especially in the Chinese market, was directly reflected in the company’s performance. A growth of over 30 percent in mainland China contributed to Apple increasing its global shipments by 3.3 percent. However, supply disruptions in some regions and weaknesses in distribution channels prevented this growth from reaching higher levels.

While the balances are changing in the top five manufacturers, activity continues in the lower segment.

In the top five manufacturers list, brands other than Samsung and Apple showed a more limited performance. Although Xiaomi was the manufacturer that experienced the biggest decrease, it maintained its third place position. On the other hand, Oppo ranked fourth due to weak results in international markets despite its strong performance in the Chinese market. At this point, it is stated that the Realme brand is also included in the Oppo data. Vivo completed the top five with 7.3 percent of global shipments.

A more positive picture stands out among manufacturers outside the upper segment. Honor, Lenovo (under the Motorola brand) and Huawei were among the companies that recorded growth. In particular, Honor’s 24 percent annual increase shows that the company’s strategy to expand into foreign markets is yielding concrete results. In addition, Huawei’s recovery in the Chinese market is also among the notable developments.

Looking specifically at the Chinese market, total shipments amounted to approximately 69 million units and there was a 3.3 percent decrease on an annual basis. The growth exhibited by Huawei and Apple here was not enough to offset the slowdown in the general market. This reveals that demand-side fragility persists even in one of the world’s largest smartphone markets.