iPhone shipments held flat at 56.5 million in the third quarter of 2026 while global smartphone shipments fell 20% to 254.7 million units. That is the lowest third-quarter total since 2013, and Apple finished 1.3 million units behind Samsung, which shipped 57.8 million.
Omdia published its full third-quarter figures on October 29, adding unit counts to the preliminary market shares it released earlier this month. Apple’s share works out to about 22%, up from roughly 18% a year earlier, because its volume stayed level while the total shrank.
iPhone shipments held flat on China, North America and early channel stocking
Apple shipped as many iPhones as it did in the third quarter of 2025, even though the market shrank by a fifth. Omdia credits resilient demand in China and North America, which offset weakness in key emerging markets, along with sustained demand for the iPhone 17 lineup.
Channel partners also stocked up ahead of expected price increases. Shipments count phones sent into the sales channel, so some of the 56.5 million are sitting in inventory rather than in buyers’ hands.
The higher prices arrived with the September launches. The iPhone 18 Pro starts at $1,199 and the iPhone 18 Pro Max at $1,299, each $100 above the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Omdia adds that Apple deferred the base iPhone 18 to 2027, which stretches the iPhone 17 sales cycle and concentrates new demand on premium models for the holiday season.
Sales of the iPhone Duo, Apple’s first foldable iPhone, start in the fourth quarter. Pre-orders opened on October 16 and it reached customers on October 23, at a starting price of $1,999.
Xiaomi, OPPO and vivo lost between 29% and 39% of their volume
Samsung stayed on top with 57.8 million units, down 5%. Omdia says the Galaxy A series held up because rival Android brands faced memory supply constraints and higher prices, and the August launch of the Galaxy Z8 series, with trade-in and upgrade offers, strengthened its premium position.
Xiaomi shipped 30.7 million phones, down 29%, with China down 20% and India down 28%. OPPO, which includes realme and OnePlus, shipped 23.4 million, down 39%, and vivo shipped 19.3 million, down 33%. All three raised or adjusted prices to protect margins as component costs climbed.
Africa recorded the steepest regional drop at 39%, while APAC excluding Greater China, the Middle East and Latin America each fell more than 20%. Sanyam Chaurasia, Principal Analyst at Omdia, says weaker currencies and higher living costs pushed buyers in those markets to delay upgrades or switch to refurbished phones, and in some lower-income markets to feature phones. North America held up better because of its premium-heavy mix and carrier financing, trade-in and upgrade programs.
Mass-market vendors are responding by cutting SKUs, adjusting RAM and storage configurations and absorbing some costs, while shifting toward higher-value models to protect profit.
Omdia expects shipments to fall 12% in 2026 and decline again in 2027
Omdia forecasts a 12% decline for 2026, with further price increases and little room for promotional discounts weighing on holiday demand. Amber Liu, Practice Leader at Omdia, adds that vendors are balancing existing stock against new product generations, and that independent retailers face slower inventory turnover and shrinking margins that could push some out of the market.
The decline continues in 2027 at a slower pace, with high-bandwidth memory shortages and tight conventional memory supply keeping costs elevated. SK hynix said on October 28 that it expects its memory supply shortage to persist through 2030.
Apple reports its fiscal fourth-quarter results on November 2, and the December quarter is the first to show how buyers respond to $1,199 and $1,299 starting prices and the $1,999 iPhone Duo.
