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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.”
