IDC has just released its smartphone market report for Q1 2026. The first two companies are not surprising, but we’ve seen quite a few changes YoY (Year-over-Year), as the smartphone sales dropped.
According to IDC, smartphone OEMs have shipped 289.7 million smartphones in Q1 2026, down from 302 million in the same period last year. That’s a drop of 4.1%, in case you were wondering.
Why is that? Well, it’s easy to guess: limited memory availability. As many of you know, memory prices have been skyrocketing due to AI. This year will be challenging in general, says IDC, quoting “rising component, energy, and logistics costs due to the recent war in the Middle East compound downside risks on the market outlook and pressure global smartphone demand.”
Samsung and Apple did well in Q1 2026, but other smartphone companies, not so much
Having said that, Samsung and Apple are still the top two companies, globally, of course. In fact, they’re the only two companies on this 5-company list that have seen an increase in shipments YoY.
Samsung managed to sell 62.8 million smartphones in Q1 2026 and grab 21.7% of the market. That’s a 3.6% increase for the company. Apple, on the other hand, sold 61.1 million phones and grabbed 21.1% of the market. That’s a 3.3% increase compared to Q1 2025.
Xiaomi is third-placed with 33.8 million phones shipped, as the company grabbed 11.7% of the market. That’s a decrease of 19.1% for Xiaomi. OPPO is in fourth place with 30.7 million phones sold, and 10.6% of the market. OPPO’s sales decreased by 9.9% YoY.
Vivo closes out the list in fifth place, as the company sold 21.2 million phones. Vivo is holding 7.3% of the market, and has seen a sales decline of 6.8% compared to Q1 2025.
All the other companies have sold 80.1 million phones combined, which leaves 27.6% of the market for them. Sales for them, altogether, fell by 4.2% YoY.
Apple is doing much better than Samsung in the world’s largest smartphone market
On the other hand, Apple is doing much better than Samsung in the world’s largest smartphone market. Samsung wasn’t even amongst the top 5 companies there, based on sales.
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