Report: Apple captured half of global smartphone revenue in Q3

Apple achieved a historic milestone in Q3 2026 by capturing half of the global smartphone revenue, according to a report from Counterpoint Research. The tech giant's dominance in the market saw it surpass Samsung, which held the second position with a 19% share of global smartphone revenue. Xiaomi, OPPO, and vivo rounded out the top five with 6%, 5%, and 4% shares, respectively.

In another record-breaking quarter, Apple reported an all-time-high average selling price (ASP) of $1,031 for its iPhones, marking a 19% year-over-year increase. The Research Director of Counterpoint, Tarun Pathak, attributed this growth to the iPhone 18 Pro series, which launched later in the quarter. Pathak explained that Apple's strong performance was due to its pricing power, which allowed the company to absorb rising memory costs and pass them on to consumers with minimal impact on demand.

The absence of a base iPhone 18 model in the launch and price increases across older models in September also contributed to the ASP growth.

While Samsung maintained its lead in shipment share, the gap between Samsung and Apple narrowed slightly. Samsung accounted for 22% of global smartphone shipments, while Apple secured 21%, a small decrease compared to previous quarters.