The phone market bottomed out, Apple and Samsung still maintained their growth momentum

(Dan Tri) - When most phone brands had headaches and were forced to increase prices because of rising component costs, Apple and Samsung stood firm in the eye of the storm, maintaining growth momentum.

Benefit in the midst of a crisis

In the context of a declining phone market, many products were forced to increase prices, Samsung and Apple became two rare names recording growth.

Counterpoint Research's report shows that Samsung maintained the number one position globally with 24% of the phone market share in the second quarter of 2026, and recorded the strongest growth rate among the five largest manufacturers in the world.

Samsung's success comes from many factors. The company maintained relatively positive business results in India and the Middle East, thanks to a more stable product supply, lower price increases compared to competitors, and mass promotional programs during the summer.

But the biggest growth driver is the Galaxy S26 series, especially the Galaxy S26 Ultra version. This flagship model is popular with consumers thanks to its integration of new AI features and privacy-protecting screen technology.

The Galaxy S26 series has been positively received by consumers thanks to many new technologies (Photo: Viet Huy).

In addition, the advantage of supply chain autonomy, an expanding AI product portfolio and product innovation strategy also help the company maintain growth momentum even when demand in the popular segment weakens.

Similarly, Apple also recorded positive results when the number of shipped devices increased by 3% over the same period. In particular, the company's second quarter market share reached 20% for the first time.

According to Counterpoint, Apple was the only major phone company that did not increase prices of current iPhone models during the second quarter. This contributes to helping the iPhone 17 series continue to be the phone model with the highest shipped volume in the world.

iPhone 17 continues to be the phone model with the highest shipment volume in the world in the second quarter of 2026 (Photo: Doan Thuy).

However, it cannot be denied that Apple is still facing difficulties in the Chinese market. The company's sales continue to decline despite promotion of price reduction and consumer demand stimulation programs.

In addition, older iPhone models also recorded a decline in shipments when component sources were prioritized for new product generations in the context of limited memory-related supply.

When low-cost and mid-range phone companies simultaneously raised prices due to component pressure, Samsung and Apple became bright spots by maintaining stable prices (Photo: Doan Thuy).

In the Vietnamese market, according to data from Omdia, in the first quarter of 2026, Samsung also leads with 26% market share. However, in second place is OPPO with 21%, Apple is in third place with 20%. Ranked 4th and 5th respectively are Xiaomi with 18% market share and Vivo with 4% market share.

The phone market plummeted the most in more than a decade

According to data from Counterpoint Research, the number of phones shipped in the second quarter of 2026 decreased by 11% over the same period last year, reaching the lowest level of the second quarter since 2013, reflecting the serious impact of the supply crisis of DRAM and NAND memory chips.

If last year the problem was mainly in the supply of components, now, analysts say the crisis has turned into a demand problem.

As memory chip prices continue to escalate, manufacturers are forced to pass on most of the increased costs to consumers through many price increases, especially in the low- and mid-range segments.

The AI ​​fever causes component prices to skyrocket, so manufacturers are forced to pass on increased costs to consumers (Photo: TechZim).

The root cause comes from memory manufacturers prioritizing production capacity for AI data centers instead of consumer electronics such as phones or personal computers.

In the context of exploding demand for AI hardware, the supply of memory chips for phones is increasingly limited, leading to a continuous increase in production costs.

Low-cost and mid-range phone models, which account for the majority of global phone sales, are being hit the hardest by rising component costs.

According to Omdia's report, the global phone market decreased by 4% in the second quarter of 2026, in which the memory chip crisis hit the mid-range phone segment the hardest (Photo: Omdia).

In addition to the memory chip crisis, shipping costs and rising oil prices due to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East also cause phone prices to continue to rise.

All of this takes place in the context of slow global economic growth, high inflation and low consumer confidence, making price-sensitive customers even more cautious when deciding to buy a new phone.

Cheap phones are under the greatest pressure

According to market research company Omdia, the impact of memory chip prices is especially serious for phone models priced under 500 USD.

In this segment, memory costs typically account for about half of the total device manufacturing cost. As a result, companies have almost no room left to keep selling prices as before.

Meanwhile, in the high-end segment, memory chips account for just over a quarter of total production costs. Therefore, these companies are still able to maintain better profit margins, and high-end users are also less sensitive to price fluctuations.

Therefore, in contrast to Samsung and Apple, Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo all recorded a sharp decrease in device shipments in the second quarter.

Phone brands including Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo all recorded a sharp decrease in the number of devices shipped in the second quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year (Photo: The Anh).

Because they focus heavily on the popular and mid-range segments, these three brands are more strongly affected when consumers delay shopping, switch to older models or extend the time of using their current phone.

Xiaomi maintained 12% market share after being forced to streamline its product portfolio and loosen financial policies for retailers to protect sales. At the same time, the company also recorded positive signals in the high-end segment with the Redmi Note 15, Redmi K90 and Xiaomi 17 series.

Meanwhile, OPPO ranked fourth with 11% market share, while vivo ranked fifth with 8% market share.

Notably, in addition to the group of five largest companies, Google and Huawei recorded growth of 16% and 6% over the same period last year. Pixel 10 and Pixel 10a help Google grow well in developed markets, while Huawei benefits from the newly launched Mate 80, Nova 15 and Enjoy 90 series.

Although not among the world's leading phone manufacturers, Google still recorded a 16% growth in shipments in the second quarter of 2026 thanks to positive sales of the Pixel 10 series (Photo: The Verge).

Experts say that the phone market in the rest of 2026 is unlikely to have positive signals. Counterpoint predicts that the memory chip shortage will likely last well into 2027.

Faced with a difficult situation, many manufacturers are expected to continue to prioritize value instead of chasing output. Models with low profit margins will gradually have their prices reduced or increased, memory versions and configurations will be adjusted to optimize costs, and sales of older models will be promoted.

Another notable consequence is that users' phone replacement cycle continues to lengthen. As the price of new devices increases, many people choose to continue using their current device for longer instead of upgrading every year.