Apple’s iPhone finished the first quarter of 2026 as the top smartphone brand by shipments in the first quarter of 2026, according to new data from Counterpoint Research. This marks the first time the iPhone has outperformed the rest of the smartphone market in the first quarter of any year.
Apple captured 21% of global smartphone shipments, growing 9% year-over-year, even as the overall market shrank 3%. Samsung came in a close second, also at 21% staying flat when it comes to shipments, followed by Xiaomi at 12%, OPPO at 10%, and vivo at 7%. Meanwhile, Xiaomi’s shipments fell 19% year-over-year, while OPPO and vivo declined 4% and 2%, respectively.
Counterpoint earlier this year reported that the iPhone 17 was the best-selling smartphone model in the world in Q1. During Apple’s April 30 Q2 2026 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook said the iPhone 17 family was the most popular lineup in Apple’s history. Cook also said iPhone demand had led to supply constraints during the quarter, thanks to issues in getting TSMC’s A19 and A19 Pro chips, due to demand for TSMC’s AI server chips.
In addition to growing iPhone 17 demand, Counterpoint says Apple’s brand-level performance is due to its proactive supply chain management as well as improved sales in China.
