Abstract:
According to the global model sales tracking report released by market research organization Counterpoint Research, Apple iPhone 17 became the world's best-selling smartphone model with a 6% share of global smartphone sales in the second quarter of 2026. Apple and Samsung each occupied five seats in the top ten on the list. The two together contributed 26% of global smartphone sales, a year-on-year increase of 2 percentage points. Although the overall global smartphone market fell by 11% year-on-year, due to the global RAM (memory) shortage, major manufacturers have concentrated their resources on flagship and key best-selling models, making the market concentration in the top ten list reach the highest level in the second quarter of history.
As for Apple, the company's overall sales bucked the trend and grew by 5% year-on-year. It performed strongly in India, Japan and the Middle East and Africa, and its sales in the Korean market nearly doubled. This was mainly due to the strong boost of the iPhone 17 series. Counterpoint Research senior analyst Karn Chauhan said that thanks to substantial hardware upgrades, the gap between the standard iPhone 17 and the Pro series has narrowed significantly, making it the best-selling single model this quarter; at the same time, with trade-in plans, promotions and flexible installment plans, iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max also performed well in the high-end market, and the increase in overall mobile phone prices has further pushed consumers to switch to higher-end product lines, consolidating Apple's competitive advantage in the high-end market. In addition, iPhone 17e, with its new MagSafe support and larger storage capacity (the price is the same as last year), continues to be boosted by operator promotions in the US and Japanese markets and maintains good market performance.
As for Samsung, the Galaxy S26 series also performed well. Counterpoint Research senior analyst Harshit Rastogi pointed out that Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra became the best-selling Android smartphone this quarter. This is also the first time that an ultra-high-end Android model topped the list of Android sales in the second quarter. This model contributed more than half of the sales of the entire S26 series. Analysts believe that this achievement is due to the delayed release of the S26 series compared to the S25 series, which concentrated more sales into the second quarter. At the same time, the industry's first privacy screen technology and enhanced AI functions also make this model stand out among similar products; faced with revenue pressure brought by rising costs, Samsung has further increased resource investment and promotion efforts in its flagship product line to alleviate the pressure of declining revenue. In addition to high-end products, Samsung's entry-level and mid-range Galaxy A series also continue to be favored by consumers due to their affordable prices, wide market coverage and excellent cost performance. It is worth mentioning that all Galaxy A series models shortlisted in this list provide system software support for more than six years to adapt to the trend of consumer replacement cycles being extended.
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