Inflation showed itself in the global smartphone market

Global smartphone shipments fell 20 percent year-on-year in the third quarter to their lowest level since 2012, Counterpoint Research's preliminary estimates showed on Monday, October 12, as rising memory chip costs and supply shortages put pressure on manufacturers to raise prices. Post-inflation showed up in the global smartphone market

Global smartphone shipments fell 20 percent year-on-year in the third quarter to their lowest level since 2012, Counterpoint Research's preliminary estimates showed on Monday, October 12, as rising memory chip costs and supply shortages put pressure on manufacturers to raise prices.

According to Sefir Arjan, the increase in the price of memory parts due to the lack of resources in artificial intelligence infrastructure projects has increased production costs and prompted manufacturers to increase retail prices, reduce supply and prioritize profitability over production volume.

"Consumers are holding on to their devices for longer than previously estimated and are increasingly turning to refurbished and higher value devices," said Shilpi Jain, senior analyst at Counterpoint.

Relying on the demand for the Galaxy Z Fold8 series and the stable supply of parts for its mid-range phones, Samsung maintained the top position with a market share of 23%. However, the supply of this company's products this season decreased by 3% compared to the same period last year.

Apple's market share reached 22%, and despite the annual decrease in supply, it exceeded 20% for the first time in a third quarter (third quarter of 2026).

According to "Counterpoint" report, the absence of the base model of iPhone 18 made the amount of stock distributed in the sales network during the month of release to be less than the full supply of the iPhone 17 series in the previous year.

Oppo and Vivo companies faced a decrease of more than 20% in the supply of their products. Xiaomi also witnessed a drop of more than 30% and its market share decreased to 10% because the company is focusing on low-cost devices and lacking presence in some foreign markets in order to maintain its profit margin.

"The outlook for the remainder of 2026 remains challenging," Counterpoint said, according to a Reuters report. The reduction in production, the narrowing of the variety of products and more focus on high-end devices will probably continue, and the price-sensitive sectors will face more pressure due to the increase in the price of devices and the restriction of access to parts.