Apple is hitting unimaginable highs in the global smartphone market in this one crucial area

What happens when an abrupt rise in production costs forces virtually all smartphone vendors to increase the retail prices of their new and old products? From a consumer perspective, global demand is naturally negatively impacted, but as far as handset makers are concerned, that's not necessarily bad news.

Not just yet, at least, as a number of major mobile industry players seem to have been able to offset their volume declines with a jump in average selling prices (ASPs) for an overall revenue improvement in Q2 2026 compared to the same period of last year.

The market as a whole and Apple are breaking all previous records

As unlikely as it might sound, the total revenue generated by all smartphone manufacturers around the world between April and June of this year is not only higher than the same number reported in Q2 2025 but also highest among all second-quarter revenue figures ever registered by the mobile industry.

Top 5 smartphone vendors by revenue in Q2 2026

Apple's revenue share is almost equal to the numbers posted by all other smartphone vendors. | Image by Counterpoint Research

The reason you probably never could have anticipated such a feat, of course, is that quarterly smartphone shipments have decreased by 11 percent from last year's April-June timeframe (at least according to Counterpoint Research), but that was actually nothing compared to a global 17 percent year-on-year boost in average selling prices.

What will happen when Apple finally increases its iPhone prices?

The revenue champion is unsurprisingly Apple yet again, but what you're likely to find a little unexpected or outright shocking is the Cupertino giant's industry-leading 22 percent rise in smartphone earnings. Of the $109 billion revenue generated by the handset market in its entirety, Apple accounted for an incredible 49 percent in Q2 2026, setting a new second-quarter record itself primarily due to its unrivaled ability to keep product prices steady.

Samsung is also improving its revenue score

... but not by 22 percent. Still, a revenue boost of 9 percent and a revenue share of 16 percent are definitely not bad for Galaxy handsets, which actually surged in shipments as well between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026.

Top 5 smartphone vendors in average selling prices in Q2 2026

The average selling prices of Samsung's handsets are miles away from Apple's iPhones. | Image by Counterpoint Research

On the not so bright side, Samsung's ASP is described as "relatively flat" by Counterpoint Research analysts, and that's another area where Apple has managed to shine in the April-June quarter of this year, rising 8 percent from Q2 2025 to hit a mind-blowing $946. The smartphone market's global ASP is only $400, mind you, and Samsung barely stands at $270, as low and mid-end Galaxy A-series devices continue to be as popular as (if not more than) Galaxy S-series high-enders.

Oppo is the world's bronze medalist as far as both revenues and average prices are concerned, followed closely by Vivo on the latter front and both Xiaomi and Vivo in the former field.

Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi's revenue scores are all down despite significant ASP increases, which basically means these three companies may need to become even more aggressive in the coming months than they've already recently been in terms of price hikes and increasing their focus on high-end devices with better profit margins.

Where is the mobile industry going next?

From a volume standpoint, clearly further down. In terms of average selling prices, clearly further up. But revenue is a harder-to-predict indicator, as it depends on a number of variables even the most seasoned market analysts can't accurately foresee with months in advance.

Top 5 smartphone vendors in shipments in Q2 2026

Apple is likely to finish the year with a clear advantage over Samsung in global smartphone shipments. | Image by Counterpoint Research

Probably the most interesting thing to follow will be Apple's evolution in these reports after the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max are released at their higher prices compared to their predecessors. I personally doubt Cupertino's revenue will continue to go up, exceeding half of the entire market, but crazier things have definitely happened in the last few years, so let's not rule anything out.

For more news on the mobile industry, check these stories out as well:

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