The global smartphone market is facing serious problems, and the latest data from the research company Counterpoint Research shows a sharp decline in sales worldwide.
During the twentieth week of 2026, more precisely in the period from May 11 to 17, the total worldwide sales of phones fell by eight percent compared to the same period last year. This is the ninth consecutive week that the market has recorded a constant decline.
However, two big brands manage to completely reverse this negative trend in their favor.
Apple is growing despite a general industry slump
The first big exception in this global gray is the company Apple, whose phones apparently do not feel the consequences of the economic crisis. Despite the fact that customers around the world are spending less and less money on new devices, sales of iPhone models in the mentioned twentieth week recorded a stable growth of 9% on an annual basis.
The main reason for such drastic differences between brands lies in the stability of supply chains and the ability to manage costs. While competing manufacturers are under tremendous pressure and experiencing double-digit declines, Apple is in an extremely favorable position that allows it to maintain stable prices and retain the trust of its loyal customers.
However, it looks like that will soon come to an end, because it has Apple announced an imminent price increase in its entire portfolio.
The spike in memory prices dictates harsher rules of the game
The biggest enemy of the industry in 2026 is extremely high prices of memory chipswhich directly affect the change of strategy of all major manufacturers. Due to artificial intelligence that massively consumes resources, the prices of RAM and storage space have increased manifold.
Stabilization is not expected in the near future. Director of Research at Counterpoint Research, Tarun Patak, explains the current situation and the moves Android brands are making
„It is now completely clear that memory prices will remain high until the end of 2026, which is why manufacturers had to change their previous approach. To cope with the pressures, they are now applying a combination of device price hikes, pushing back the launch dates of new models and aggressive cost optimization tactics. Unfortunately, this also includes conscious ‘interruption of various functions’ within the phones themselves. Also and significantly more efficient management sales channels”.
Many Android brands are therefore forced to raise the prices of their existing models. Either that or they install more modest components in newer generations in order to preserve profit margins. Both additionally repel average buyers.
Huawei is experiencing explosive growth
Besides Apple, the only brand that records fantastic results is the Chinese Huawei. This brand achieved a massive growth of even 23% on an annual basis. Huawei is clearly operating in its own bubble and is several months behind the regular market trends of the rest of the world.
Thanks to strong domestic support and a fully localized supply chain, the company managed to consolidate its position at the top. Huawei currently shares the convincing first place in the Chinese market with a share of exactly 20%. It successfully compensates for somewhat weaker results on foreign markets. Also, Huawei thus takes the market from direct competitors – Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo, says Counterpoint Research.