The smartphone market is heading for its largest decline ever in 2026

IDC Research reported on Thursday that the global smartphone market is expected to witness its largest decline ever in 2026, as shipments will fall to the lowest level in more than a decade, due to rising prices of memory chips that lead to higher device costs.

The company explained in a report that smartphone shipments are expected to decrease by 12.9 percent to 1.12 billion units.

The report stated that the decline will affect manufacturers of low-cost Android devices more, while Apple and Samsung stand in a position to gain market share as smaller competitors suffer or exit the market completely.

“What we are witnessing is not a temporary stress, but rather a tsunami-like shock created in the memory chip supply chain,” said Francisco Geronimo, vice president of global devices at IDC.

The rapid expansion of AI infrastructure by technology companies such as Meta, Google and Microsoft has taken over most memory chip supplies, driving up prices at a time when manufacturers have prioritized higher-margin data center components than consumer hardware.

Analysts said that rising component costs will force companies focusing on budget devices to pass on expenses to consumers.
IDC said Apple and Samsung, which have stronger balance sheets, were in a better position.