Smartphone market hits 10-year quarterly low, with Samsung and Apple showing resilience

The worst quarter for the smartphone industry in a decade has been reported in the third quarter of 2026, according to Omdia, with a 20% decline in unit shipments from a year ago.

Worldwide smartphone shipments in the third quarter came out to 254.7 million - which is the smallest the quarter has been since 2013.

Although all the major manufacturers were impacted by falling demand, Samsung and Apple performed the best in the difficult market environment, better than the significant Chinese brands.

Samsung kept its edge in the market with a shipment of 57.8 million units-a drop of a mere 5% against the year-ago figure.

Galaxy A series that falls under budget and mid-range, and Galaxy Z8 foldable series, which debuted in September with trade-in and upgrade schemes, all helped to increase the company's market share.

Apple was ranked second at 56.5 million units, not showing any growth from the prior year.

This is in part due to continuous demand for the iPhone 17 as well as pre-emptive inventory stocking by the distribution channels ahead of the possibility of a price increase. Additionally, robust demand in China and North America mitigated the decline in emerging markets.

However, shipments of Chinese OEMs fell sharply: Xiaomi was third at 30.7 million-a 29% fall-Impact from steep drops in China and India. Oppo (together with its sub-brands Realme and One Plus) fell by 39% to 23.4 million, while Vivo was down 33% at 19.3 million.

Analysts observed that higher prices have been a key factor that hit emerging markets – which have long been the main driver for growth in the smartphone business. Additionally, vendors have held back on buying inventory, further biting into sales.