Global Smartphone Shipments Fall 22 Percent in Q3 2026, Trackers Say

Global smartphone shipments fell sharply in the third quarter of 2026. One tracker reports 255.3 million units shipped, down 22.0 percent from 327.3 million a year earlier, and calls it the steepest quarterly drop in its records. A second tracker puts the decline at about 20 percent and says the quarter was the weakest third quarter since 2012. Both estimates are preliminary.

Why shipments fell

Both trackers point to rising memory costs. Prices for DRAM and NAND flash, the chips used for working memory and storage, have climbed. That raises the share of a phone's parts cost that goes to these chips. One tracker describes an AI led memory crisis as the cause. The trackers measure the market differently, so their percentages should not be read as identical.

Who held up

Apple and Samsung held up best. The second tracker says Samsung and Apple were the only major brands to gain share in the quarter. The first tracker says shipment declines were steeper for Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo.

What to watch

The second tracker expects the smartphone market to stay challenging toward the end of 2026. The first tracker warns that weak demand could leave unsold stock piling up into 2027. Memory prices remain the main factor, and the effect shows up in what new phones cost.