Business · Companies · 4 hrs ago
Apple and Samsung gain smartphone chip market share as shipments fall 21%
Global smartphone chip shipments fell 21% year over year in the third quarter of 2026, as demand slowed and memory costs rose.
Apple and Samsung were the only major vendors to gain market share, according to Counterpoint Research.
Apple remained third, with 21% of the market, up from 17% a year earlier; Samsung rose to 8% from 6%.
MediaTek still led with 28%, while Qualcomm held second place with 22%.
The market’s leading vendors lost share as Apple and Samsung gained, but the overall market contracted.
Counterpoint expects shipments to fall 20% for 2026 and another 3% to 4% in 2027, while memory prices are expected to keep rising next year.
New flagship chips may lift premium shipments in Q4, but Counterpoint expects volumes to remain below the same quarter of 2025.
Global smartphone chip shipments fell 21% year over year in the third quarter of 2026, according to Counterpoint Research.
Apple and Samsung were the only major smartphone chip vendors to gain market share.
Apple ranked third, with its share rising to 21% from 17% a year earlier.
Samsung remained fifth, with its share increasing to 8% from 6%.
Counterpoint expects shipments to decline 20% in 2026 and a further 3% to 4% in 2027.
- Who
- Apple and Samsung gained share among smartphone chip vendors; MediaTek remained the market leader.
- What
- Global smartphone chip shipments fell 21% year over year in Q3 2026, while Apple and Samsung increased their market shares.
- When
- The figures cover Q3 2026 and compare it with Q3 2025.
- Where
- The global smartphone chip market.
- Why
- Counterpoint attributed the market conditions to rising memory costs and slowing smartphone demand.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Apple had 17% of the smartphone chip market and Samsung had 6%.
Apple, MediaTek and Qualcomm launched flagship chipsets based on TSMC’s 2nm process node.
Global smartphone chip shipments fell 21% year over year; Apple’s share reached 21% and Samsung’s reached 8%.
Counterpoint expected the new flagship chipsets to boost premium smartphone SoC shipments, while volumes would remain below Q4 2025 levels.
- Global shipment change
- Down 21% year over year in Q3 2026
- Apple market share
- 21%, up from 17% in Q3 2025
- Samsung market share
- 8%, up from 6% in Q3 2025
- Market leader
- MediaTek, with 28% share
- 2026 shipment forecast
- Down 20% year over year
- 2027 shipment forecast
- Down 3% to 4%
What people are saying
We saw three notable flagship chipset launches in September 2026, based on TSMC’s 2nm process node: Apple’s A20 series, MediaTek’s Dimensity 9600 Pro and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series.
These launches are expected to boost premium smartphone SoC shipments in Q4 2026, although volumes are still likely to remain below Q4 2025 levels.