New Delhi, July 11 (IANS) Global smartphone shipments declined 11 per cent (year-on-year) in the April-June quarter (Q2 2026), reaching the lowest second-quarter levels since 2013, a report showed on Monday, as the memory shortage deepened and emerged as the dominant drag on the industry.

According to preliminary estimates from Counterpoint Research’s Market Monitor, DRAM and NAND prices continued to balloon through the quarter as memory suppliers kept prioritising AI data centre demand over consumer electronics, forcing OEMs to pass rising Bill of Materials (BOM) costs onto consumers via repeated price hikes, particularly on entry and mid-tier devices.

Samsung reclaimed its global No 1 position with a 24 per cent share in Q2 and recorded the strongest growth among top five brands.

Samsung held up relatively well in India and the Middle East, supported by better product availability, fewer price hikes and aggressive summer promotions that complemented flagship momentum, said the report.

Apple’s shipments grew 3 per cent YoY during the quarter, while its market share climbed to a record 20 per cent. It was also the only major OEM to avoid smartphone price hikes during the quarter.

“The global memory crisis has now overtaken every other factor as the single biggest drag on the smartphone industry. What started as a components issue last year is now a full-blown demand issue. The entry and mid-tier devices, which account for a majority of the world’s smartphone volumes and are the most exposed to BOM economics, become structurally unfeasible at previous price points,” said senior analyst Shilpi Jain.

Alongside the memory shortage, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East bumped up oil and shipping costs, further inflating smartphone prices.

This coincided with a broader macro squeeze, slower global growth, higher inflation, and record-low consumer sentiment which hit price-sensitive buyers the hardest, said Jain.

The outlook for the rest of 2026 remains challenging. Counterpoint continues to expect global smartphone shipments to decline by around 14 per cent for the full year, with the global memory shortage expected to persist in 2027.

–IANS

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