Smartphone shipments
suffer worst-ever crash

AI-driven memory shortages have
forced smartphone makers to
raise prices, cut specifications
and drop budget handsets,
triggering a record quarterly
slump in shipments

Q3 SHIPMENTS BY
MANUFACTURER
(millions of units)

Apple’s $2,000
iPhone Duo entering
market at mercy of AI demands

Quarterly
comparison

Q3 2025
Q3 2026

Samsung
Apple
Xiaomi
Oppo
Vivo

61.4
57.8
59.7
57.3
43.4
30.7
39.1
25.6
27.9
19.1

22% Average
plunge in
shipments

GLOBAL
SMARTPHONE
MARKET SHARE
(%)

Samsung
Apple
Xiaomi
Oppo
Vivo
Other*

23
22
10
9
8
28

Budget Chinese smartphone brands
have been hit hardest, with Oppo
seeing 35% fall in shipments.
Apple has fallen least, with
decline of 4%

Sources: Bloomberg, IDC, iTech Post. Percentages rounded
Illustration created with aid of ChatGPT. *More than 100 tracked brands
© GRAPHIC NEWS