Apple built around 52 million iPhones in the second quarter of 2026, according to a new TrendForce report published today. That’s a 14% jump year over year, and it puts Apple in second place globally behind Samsung, with a 19% share of worldwide smartphone production.
The bigger story here isn’t just Apple’s number. It’s that the entire smartphone market held up better than analysts expected, even as rising memory prices squeezed nearly every manufacturer’s margins.
Global Production Fell, But Not as Much as Predicted
TrendForce says total global smartphone production came in at 275 million units for Q2 2026, down 8% from the same quarter last year. That decline is real, but it’s smaller than what the firm had originally forecast.
Off the back of these numbers, TrendForce revised its full-year 2026 forecast upward, from 1.05 billion units to 1.07 billion. The projected annual decline now sits at 14%, down from the 16% drop the firm predicted earlier in the year.
Two things are driving the better-than-expected numbers:
- Consumers buying early. Shoppers are pulling forward purchases because they expect memory price hikes to push device costs even higher heading into 2027.
- Brands restoring production. Several manufacturers cut output too aggressively earlier this year when memory costs spiked, and they’re now rebuilding some of that lost volume as conditions steady out.
TrendForce is careful to point out this isn’t a real recovery. It’s a temporary bump from demand that got moved up on the calendar, and the firm expects renewed pressure once memory prices keep climbing into 2027.
Who Made What in Q2 2026
Samsung held the top spot with 62 million units produced, up 7% year over year and good for a 23% share of the market. Apple came in second.
| Brand | Q2 2026 Production | YoY Change | Market Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Samsung | 62 million | +7% | 23% |
| Apple | 52 million | +14% | 19% |
| Oppo | 30 million | -17% | 11% |
| Xiaomi | 29 million | -32% | 10% |
| vivo | 21 million | -18% | 8% |
| Transsion | 20 million | -27% | 7% |
Apple was the only brand outside Samsung to post double-digit growth. Everyone else in the top six either grew modestly or shrank, some by a lot. Xiaomi’s 32% drop stands out, and Transsion’s entry-level lineup took a heavy hit from rising memory costs since the company carries thinner margins to absorb the increase.
Why Apple Is Outpacing the Market
TrendForce credits Apple’s growth to the iPhone 17 lineup’s pricing strategy, which kept sales momentum going through the first three quarters of the cycle. In the firm’s words, the pricing approach “supported strong sales performance” across that stretch.
That momentum may not carry over to the next generation, though. TrendForce expects price increases on the iPhone 18 series to be more or less unavoidable, and it flags that as the key variable to watch for whether Apple can keep this growth rate going. Nothing is official yet, so treat the iPhone 18 pricing outlook as informed speculation rather than confirmed detail until Apple actually announces the lineup.
Oppo, vivo, and the China Pressure Cooker
Oppo and vivo are both leaning heavily on the Chinese market, and that’s becoming a harder place to compete. Huawei has been aggressively clawing back share there, which is squeezing both brands even as they scale back their own growth ambitions in favor of protecting margins.
Xiaomi’s drop is the steepest of the bunch. The company hasn’t detailed a specific cause, but the pattern across Oppo, Xiaomi, and vivo points to a shared strategy shift: hold position, protect profitability, and stop chasing market share at any cost.
What This Means Going Into 2027
TrendForce’s own framing is worth repeating: this uptick reflects timing, not demand. Buyers moving purchases earlier and brands rebuilding inventory both pull sales forward rather than creating new demand out of nowhere. Once that effect wears off and memory costs keep rising, the industry could be right back under pressure.
For Apple specifically, the next real test comes with the iPhone 18 series and whatever pricing decisions accompany it. The iPhone 17’s pricing strategy worked. Whether Apple can pull that off twice in a row, with costs climbing across the board, is the question that will actually decide how 2027 plays out.
