In the latest market report, Counterpoint Research says that the global smartphone shipments in Q1 2026 witnessed a 6% year-over-year drop. Almost every major brand witnessed a drop, except for Apple. Amid all this chaos, the Pixel‘s market witnessed a growth in Q1 2026, which is a positive takeaway for Google.
Global smartphone shipments declined by 6% in Q1 2026
Apple took the top spot with a market share of 21%. It saw a 5% YoY growth in Q1 2026, thanks to the iPhone 17 series. Then there’s Samsung in the second place. Though it didn’t reportedly lose any market share, the shipments fell by 6% YoY. The brand reportedly faced challenges due to weaker demand in certain markets and a delay in the Galaxy S26 series launch.
Sitting below Samsung is Xiaomi with a market share of 12%. As per Counterpoint, the company saw a bigger drop of 19% in shipments YoY. OPPO and Vivo, in fourth and fifth places, dropped by 4% and 2% in Q1 2026, respectively.
Google Pixel’s Q1 2026 market growth is driven by AI and clean software
Besides the top five, the report highlights two brands in bright spots: Nothing and Google. The latter saw a growth of 14% in Q1 2026. Counterpoint says that the tech giant is “strengthening its presence across key mature markets.” The key reasons for Google Pixel’s growth are AI capabilities, computational photography, and software. How the rest of 2026 will pan out for Google Pixels is something we’ll have to see, but this is a good start for now.
Meanwhile, Nothing witnessed 25% YoY growth in Q1 2026. Counterpoint attributes this to the brand’s “distinctive design, niche positioning, and growing consumer awareness.” The recently launched Nothing Phone (4a) has reportedly been received well.
Future outlook
Lastly, Counterpoint says the smartphone market in 2026 will remain weak because the memory shortage might continue until late 2027. It adds that smartphone brands will likely focus on offering better value instead of selling more units, update existing models, drop lower-margin models, and use refurbished models to keep budget customers.
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