Smartphone Shipments to Crash 16.7% in 2026, but Higher Prices Lift Market Value to $613 Billion

The global smartphone industry is entering its steepest annual contraction as soaring memory costs force Apple, Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei and other device makers to increase prices, reduce entry-level models and concentrate on premium smartphones. IDC forecast on smartphone growth in 2026-2030 Nabila Popal – Senior Director, Data & Analytics at IDC, expects smartphone shipments to decline 16.7 percent in 2026 to slightly more than 1 billion units. IDC has earlier projected 13.9 percent decline in