While the global smartphone market heads into what could be its ugliest year, Samsung held its ground in Q1 2026, shipping roughly 62.6 million units. That’s a 2.3% gain year over year and a 7.6% jump from the previous quarter.

TrendForce’s latest figures put total global production at around 284 million units for the quarter, down 1.7% year over year. The broader 2026 forecast is brutal: production could fall 16.2% to just over a billion units for the full year.

Companies that stocked up on cheaper memory components earlier managed to absorb the pain through Q1. Chinese mid-range specialists like Oppo, Xiaomi, and Vivo are pulling back, protecting margins rather than chasing volume.

Apple came in close, producing about 60.2 million units, a 19.7% year-over-year surge. The iPhone 17e launch contributed, and Apple’s services revenue ambitions mean it’ll keep prioritizing share over short-term margin protection.

So Apple is gaining fast, but Samsung still controls the one metric every other brand watches: who ships the most phones on the planet. Right now, with the industry contracting around them, holding that title is harder than it looks.

First quarter production declined among Chinese brands, including Oppo (29.5 million units), Xiaomi (26 million units), and Vivo (22 million units). These three brands ranked third through fifth globally by production volume.

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