Samsung set to overtake Apple in 2026 smartphone market amid memory crunch: Counterpoint
Leading Chinese smartphone manufacturers are expected to experience substantially greater shipment pressure
Memory-chip price pressures are expected to cause Chinese smartphone manufacturers to face substantial shipment challenges, with Samsung Electronics poised to regain its top position in the market by 2026, according to market intelligence firm Counterpoint Research. This is due to Samsung's resilient supply chain and mature distribution network.
The memory supply crunch has worsened this year, with a projected 14.3 percent decline in global phone unit shipments for 2026. Chinese manufacturers will bear the brunt of this decline. Samsung, with a 0.8 percent growth forecast, is expected to surpass Apple in 2026. Apple and Samsung are anticipated to be resilient to the pricing pressures from more expensive components, but analysts at Counterpoint maintain a more cautious outlook for Apple.
Apart from Samsung, only Huawei Technologies, which has established its own hardware supply due to US sanctions, is expected to experience significant growth. Other brands, such as Oppo, Xiaomi, Vivo, and Honor Device, are reorganizing their portfolios to focus on premium models to better absorb higher component costs. Novel artificial intelligence features and the anticipated foldable iPhone from Apple in 2026 are not seen as triggers for a major upgrade wave.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Companies & Markets's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
