The global smartphone market is experiencing its second strongest quarter since 2013 due to rising memory prices and component supply problems.

According to the most current market research report published by Counterpoint Research, smartphone shipments worldwide are experiencing a significant collapse in the second quarter of 2026.

Despite all this sectoral contraction, technology giant Apple increased iPhone shipments by 3 percent on an annual basis, reaching a record market share of 20 percent.

At the top of the list is its fierce rival Samsung, which dominates almost a quarter of the market on its own.

How Are Technology Giants Growing While the Market Is Shrinking?

When we look into the details of the Counterpoint report, it is clearly seen that Apple and Samsung emerged stronger from this crisis, although the total shipments in the department decreased by 11 percent.

Compared to the same period last year, Samsung increases its market share by 4 points and Apple by 3 points. The rest of the list is respectively; Xiaomi, whose market share decreased by two points, ranks third with 12 percent, OPPO, whose market share decreased by one point, ranks fourth with 11 percent, and Vivo, which increased its share by one point, ranks fifth with 8 percent. The total market share of other manufacturers decreases from 28 percent to 26 percent.

While Chinese manufacturers are forced to increase device prices due to hardware costs, Apple attracts attention as the only major manufacturer that did not increase its prices this quarter.

The biggest driving force behind Apple’s growth is the iPhone 17 family, which maintains its title as the world’s best-selling smartphone series. The fact that the discounts in the 618 shopping festival applied in the Chinese market are weaker than the previous year, causes a slight decrease in Apple’s shipments in this region.

In addition, production lines give priority to new generation devices due to memory supply problems also slows down the demand for old model iPhones.

Samsung Wind Blows in the Leadership Seat

Although Apple topped the market in the first quarter of the year with the strong demand for the iPhone 17 series, it again handed over the crown to its South Korean rival Samsung in the second quarter.

Samsung is firmly in the leadership seat thanks to high consumer interest, especially for the new generation Galaxy S26 series, wide availability of devices in the global market and extremely aggressive sales promotions.

The real strategies implemented by the company allow it to achieve a much faster growth momentum than its competitors and become the sole ruler of the market.

Memory Crisis Will Continue Until 2027

Counterpoint Research analysts paint a rather worrying picture about the future of the smartphone industry. The prices of DRAM and NAND memory chips, which are the most basic building blocks of smartphone production, are increasing unstoppably.

Entry and mid-level phone manufacturers, especially those operating with low profit margins, are entering a structural impasse in the face of increasing material costs.

This cost pressure is driving up the price of cheap devices and discouraging consumers from buying a new phone.

According to analysts’ claims, this huge memory crisis that shook the technology world will continue to affect until 2027. Looking at the entire year 2026, global smartphone shipments are expected to experience a massive decline of around 14 percent in total.

It is stated that in order to overcome this severe crisis, smartphone manufacturers will discontinue low-profit devices, terminate storage options and direct consumers to renewed old generation phones.