Global smartphone shipments declined in the second quarter of 2026 as the ongoing memory chip shortage disrupted production and pushed handset prices higher. Samsung and Apple improved their competitive standing by outperforming the industry as a whole despite tough competition from some of their Android competitors. The decline is associated with high costs of DRAM and NAND chips.
Entry-level smartphones were most affected, resulting from the shortage. It is hard for budget smartphone makers to absorb increased costs of components; therefore, many of them cut down their production or passed the price increase to customers.
Samsung maintained its top position as the leading smartphone vendor worldwide with 22 percent market share in the quarter. Samsung enjoyed good availability of components, a broad product portfolio, and demand for its high-end and budget-friendly Galaxy series phones.
Apple also managed to perform well amid the tough times for the industry. The smartphone manufacturer had the best-ever second-quarter results by taking its global market share to 20 percent. This happened after the rise in demand for its iPhone 17 series. Unlike some other companies, Apple didn’t raise prices on its products considerably.
Chinese smartphone makers, including Xiaomi, Oppo and Vivo, lost market share as the memory shortage squeezed margins in the mass-market segment. Rising production costs forced several brands to increase prices or reduce shipments, affecting their competitiveness in emerging markets.
Chinese smartphone shipments also continued on a losing streak, with shipments falling in the fifth straight quarter. This comes after the rising prices of components as well as lower government subsidies, which made consumers less willing to make purchases. The exceptions were the Chinese companies Huawei and Apple, as they did not change their pricing strategies and managed to increase the number of shipped smartphones.
According to industry analysts, premium brands of smartphones will be able to withstand the memory shortages longer. All thanks to the high profit margins and more favorable conditions in terms of pricing, whereas budget-oriented manufacturers will have to deal with tougher conditions.
The researchers estimate that there will be no improvement in the memory supply issues until 2027. Thus, smartphone producers are likely to have to pay more for production and continue to operate under cautious consumers. It seems that Samsung and Apple are the best positioned among the other companies in such an environment.
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