Perhaps Apple didn’t fulfill everything what he planned to do during the Tim Cook era, but one thing is true – the iPhone dominates the global phone market.
According to the data of the analytical house Counterpoint ResearchApple recorded a 5% year-on-year growth in iPhone shipments in the Q126 period, while all major competitors recorded declines. This is particularly significant, as the first quarter is traditionally a weaker period for Apple. The company’s biggest sales are usually during the holiday, Christmas season.
The key role in this result was played by the success of the latest generation of devices. The driver of success is iPhone 17 serieswhich continued to see strong demand even after its initial launch. It was this continuity of sales that allowed Apple to maintain its momentum even after the record-breaking end of 2025.
Additional context is provided by the state of the global market. Total smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2026 fell by about 6% year-on-year. In such an environment, Apple’s growth gains additional importance, as it shows that the company is not only maintaining its position, but also increasing its market share while the competition is declining.
It is important to emphasize that this is not an isolated result, but a continuation of the trend that started at the end of last year. Apple already held about 23% of the global market in the fourth quarter of 2025, making the iPhone the best-selling smartphone in the world for the entire year.
AI generatedHow Apple came to dominate
This development of the situation points to several key factors. First of all, Apple manages to maintain stable demand even outside the main sales cycles. It was less pronounced before. At the same time, competitors are facing a drop in shipments, which further opens up space for Apple’s market share to grow.
In other words, Apple is not only profiting from its own success, but also from the weakness of the market as a whole. When it comes to choosing a premium device in times of crisis, people obviously choose iPhone. It was this combination – stable demand for iPhone devices and declining competition – that led the company to take the leadership position for the first time in the first quarter of the year.
If the trend continues, Apple could repeat the result from 2025 and maintain the leading position during 2026. However, the final outcome will depend on the further development of the market, but also on the next generation of devices that the company will present.
The iPhone dominates Counterpoint’s list, but not IDC’s
Interestingly, the Counterpoint results do not match the previously presented results of the company IDC. This unusual situation is not common, because the analytics of different sources do not differ as much as it is the case now. According to IDC, the market fell by around 4%, and Samsung was significantly ahead of everyone else. We will see which of the two analytical houses is closer to reality this time when other sources come out with their data. For now, the iPhone dominates at least one list…