The latest report released by the research organization Omdia shows that,Against the backdrop of the continued global shortage of memory chips, global smartphone shipments fell by 4% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026. But Apple captured 20% of the market share in the second quarter of 2026, setting a record high.
The report pointed out that this was Apple’s best second quarter performance ever. The second quarter is usually a slow sales season for Apple, as there are no new product releases. At this time, Apple can only rely on the old models released last fall to maintain market popularity.
This time Apple's market share was able to reach a record high, mainly due to the increase in sales brought about by the iPhone 17 series not increasing in price. As we all know, memory chip prices experienced a historically rare surge in the first half of this year.
In the first quarter of 2026, DRAM prices increased by more than 50% month-on-month, and NAND flash memory prices increased by more than 90% month-on-month. Under the pressure of costs, many manufacturers in the Android camp have successively started price adjustments since March. The price increases of mid-range models ranged from 300 yuan to 1,000 yuan, and the increases of some flagship models were even more significant.
Against the background of widespread price increases in the Android camp, Apple's "stand still" has actually made the iPhone more cost-effective. Some netizens joked that in the past, Android relied on cost-effectiveness to beat Apple, but now it is the iPhone's turn to have cost-effectiveness.
It is worth mentioning that in late June, Apple raised the prices of multiple product lines such as Mac and iPad. Although this price adjustment does not involve the iPhone, the industry generally expects that the iPhone 18 Pro series will most likely see a price increase.
According to agency estimates, the increase in memory and flash memory costs alone will require an increase in the starting price of the iPhone 18 Pro by approximately US$270. Coupled with the cost increase brought by the world's first 2nm process A20 Pro chip, it is expected that the starting price of the iPhone 18 Pro series may exceed the 10,000 yuan mark.
