Last updated: June 10th, 2026 at 14:16 UTC+02:00
SamMobile has affiliate and sponsored partnerships, we may earn a commission.
Despite the whole market contracting.
Reading time: 2 minutes
Abhijeet Mishra / SamMobile
Global smartphone production fell 1.7% in Q1 2026 compared to the same period last year. This was largely due to the sharp price in memory chips during the second half of 2025 which gave manufacturers little option but to raise prices.
Despite the challenging market conditions, Samsung has managed to retain its top position. A new report finds that Samsung remained the world's leading smartphone producer in the first quarter of this year.
TrendForce reports that Samsung's output reached nearly 62.6 million units in Q1 2026, representing a 7% increase over Q4 2025 and a 2.3% increase over Q1 2025. This was supported by the company building up its inventory for the new Galaxy S26 phones.
Unsurprisingly, Apple came in second place with around 60.2 million units produced during the quarter. Its launch of the iPhone 17e resulted in a 19.7% production volume growth compared to Q4 2025.
Given the rising component prices, smartphone production from all producers is expected to decline significantly for the whole year. The report projects 1.051 billion units to be produced in 2026, down 16.2% from 2025. It also cautions that the final number could come in larger than that if prices continue to rise this year.
Samsung is in a better position to withstand these inflationary effects than some of its rivals. It's part of a massive conglomerate so there's comparatively less balance sheet pressure, while it's larger premium product portfolio also helps keeps the margins in check. However, lower-end models remain a concern as they tend to be the phones that shift the most volume.
Adnan Farooqui is a long-term writer at SamMobile. Based in Pakistan, his interests include technology, finance, Swiss watches and Formula 1. His tendency to write long posts betrays his inclination to being a man of few words.
