Samsung clings on to top spot as Apple inches closer with record Q2 smartphone market share
Both Samsung and Apple can be content with their latest quarterly smartphone sales results, but one of the two top vendors is likely to be more pleased than the other.
The Galaxy S26 Ultra and iPhone 17 Pro Max were clearly two of the world's best-selling smartphones in Q2 2026. | Image by PhoneArena
Following a year-opening quarter during which research firms and analysts couldn't agree on the name of the world's top vendor, the smartphone market apparently had a more... serene April-June timeframe with a clearer and unsurprising leader.
But the gap between said global champion and its perennial arch-rival and silver medalist is significantly smaller than the distance estimated this time last year, which makes it even more obvious than it already was that Samsung isn't going to be able to retain its crown at the end of 2026.
Both the Galaxy S26 and iPhone 17 series are huge hits
In related news, water is wet. All jokes aside, though, it's certainly worth highlighting that the belated Galaxy S26 family launch compared to last year's Galaxy S25 series doesn't seem to have harmed Samsung's volumes during the first half of this year, merely pushing "some" demand from Q1 to Q2 and helping the company boost its second-quarter shipments by 2 percent from last year's dominant total.
The top five vendor chart was the same in Q1 and Q2 2026. | Image by Omdia
Then again, that's actually not quite as impressive as Apple's 4 percent jump in handset sales between Q2 2025 and Q2 2026, which is of course mainly owed to the iPhone 17 roster, aka "one of the strongest iPhone refresh and upgrade cycles" in the history of the Cupertino-based tech giant.
That market trend-defying shipment improvement apparently allowed Apple to push its share of the global mobile industry from 16 percent between April and June of last year to 20 percent now, which represents a record-breaking slice of the pie for what is traditionally the company's weakest three-month period in any given year. Samsung's 2 percent advantage (down from 4 a year ago) now looks extremely easy to cancel in Q3 and especially Q4 2026, but of course, it all remains to be seen, particularly with no "vanilla" iPhone 18 expected to come out this year.
Samsung probably took advantage of Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo's stumbles too
While the top two vendors somehow managed to sell more smartphones in Q2 2026 than in the same period of 2025, the third, fourth, and fifth global players all saw their market share numbers shrink.
This was not a good time for the market's number three, four, and fifth vendors. | Image by Omdia
That didn't result in any hierarchy changes... just yet, but bronze medalist Xiaomi suffered the biggest decline, slipping from a 15 percent slice of the pie to only 11 percent, while Oppo and Vivo dropped 2 and 1 percent, respectively, to 10 and 8 percent shares, respectively.
Most of the three's troubles came from the inevitable price hikes of budget-friendly models, which helped Samsung gain ground with only slightly costlier new additions to the mid-range Galaxy A portfolio.
Does Samsung deserve to be the world's top smartphone vendor?
Despite Apple and Samsung's surprisingly solid sales results, the global smartphone market took a 4 percent dive in Q2 2026 compared to the same timeframe of last year, and unfortunately, that number is expected to grow over the next few quarters.
Yes, Q3 and Q4 2026 shipments are likely to be a lot lower than the figures reported during the second half of 2025, as product prices will continue to go up (including iPhones) and cash-strapped buyers will have fewer and fewer options to satisfy their reduced budgets.
The smartphone market is down for the first time in nearly three years and is expected to go down further in Q3 and Q4 2026. | Image by Omdia
The key components that have gotten more and more expensive in recent months, accounting for as much as 60 percent of the manufacturing costs of low- to mid-end mobile devices nowadays (and over 30 percent as far as high-enders are concerned), will only go down in price in the second half of 2027 "at the earliest", so the smartphone market is unlikely to recover before then.
What's even worse is that smartphones are unlikely to return to "pre-2025 levels" as far as retail prices are concerned, so if the iPhone 18 Pro Max ends up costing $200 or $300 more than its predecessor, there's a good chance the 19 Pro Max will be just as expensive (if not more expensive).
Six-month unlimited plan is now 57% off
$90
$210
$120 off (57%)
Mint Mobile is now allowing you to get whichever plan you like for either three, six, or 12 months for just $15/mo. If you go for the six-month unlimited service, for instance, you'll now have to pay just $90 upfront instead of $210.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it
is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some
random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Off-topic talk - you must stick to the subject of discussion
Offensive, hate speech - if you want to say something, say it politely
Spam/Advertisements - these posts are deleted
Multiple accounts - one person can have only one account
Impersonations and offensive nicknames - these accounts get banned
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts:
New accounts created within the last 24 hours may experience restrictions on how frequently they can
post or comment.
These limits are in place as a precaution and will automatically lift.
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a
post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please,
contact us.
Things that are NOT allowed:
To help keep our community safe and free from spam, we apply temporary limits to newly created accounts: