Samsung has managed to maintain its title as the world's largest smartphone manufacturer in the second quarter of 2026, but Apple narrowed the gap to its lowest level in years, after achieving its highest ever market share for this period, driven by strong demand for the iPhone 17 series.

According to the latest data from market research firm Omdia, Samsung's smartphone shipments rose 2% compared to the second quarter of 2025, benefiting from strong demand for the Galaxy S26 series, despite its later launch compared to last year's Galaxy S25, which shifted some demand from the first quarter to the second.

Apple Records Best Performance in Its Weakest Season

In contrast, Apple achieved a stronger performance, with its phone shipments increasing 4% year-on-year, thanks to the great success of the iPhone 17 series, which market reports have described as one of the strongest upgrade cycles in the company's history.

This led to Apple's global smartphone market share rising from 16% in Q2 2025 to 20% in the same period of 2026, the highest level the company has recorded in the second quarter, which is typically its weakest sales season.

Meanwhile, the gap between Samsung and Apple shrank to just two percentage points, compared to four points a year ago, increasing the likelihood of fierce competition in the second half of 2026.

Decline of Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo Gives Samsung an Extra Opportunity

Samsung also benefited from the decline of its Chinese competitors, as the next three largest companies in the ranking saw their market shares fall:

Xiaomi: fell from 15% to 11%.

Oppo: fell to 10%.

Vivo: fell to 8%.

Table showing market shares of smartphone sales (Omdia)

This decline is attributed to rising prices of budget and mid-range phones due to increased production costs, which gave Samsung an opportunity to boost sales of its mid-range Galaxy A series, which remained more competitive compared to some of its rivals.

Smartphone Market Declines Despite Success of Samsung and Apple

Despite the positive performance of both companies, global smartphone shipments fell 4% in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year.

Research institutions expect this decline to continue in the third and fourth quarters of the year, as phone prices continue to rise due to increased costs of key components, which will affect consumers' purchasing power.

Prices Will Not Return to Previous Levels

Forecasts indicate that prices of key components, which account for about 60% of the manufacturing cost of budget and mid-range phones and more than 30% of flagship phones, will not begin to decline before the second half of 2027.

Accordingly, analysts expect that smartphone prices will not return to pre-2025 levels, and may even see further increases.

If the iPhone 18 Pro Max price rises by $200 to $300, it is likely that subsequent generations will maintain or exceed these high levels.

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