Chinese brands faced the most severe declines, with Xiaomi shipments falling 29.2% to 30.7 million units, Oppo dropping 34.5% to 25.6 million, and Vivo sliding 31.5% to 19.1 million. Samsung and Apple saw smaller decreases of 5.8% and 4.0% respectively by focusing on premium device segments. IDC Research Director Nabila Popal warned that the market has not yet reached its bottom and that growth may not recover until 2028 at the earliest.
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
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Global Smartphone Shipments Plunge 22% in Record Quarterly Decline
Tech1 day ago
Worldwide handset deliveries fell to 255.3 million units in the third quarter of 2026, according to data from IDC. Shipments dropped 22% year-over-year, marking the steepest quarterly contraction in the industry's history as AI data center demand diverted the supply of memory chips. These constraints drove component costs up approximately 350% since last year, forcing manufacturers to raise retail prices and reduce the availability of budget-tier models.
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