IDC preliminary data: global smartphone shipments fell to 277.5 million units in
Q2 2026, down 6.7% YoY and marking a second consecutive YoY decline. IDC said a
sustained memory crisis has sharply raised costs and tightened supply, with
memory prices up nearly 300% YoY. Market bifurcation widened: Samsung and Apple
posted YoY shipment gains and expanded share by 3.2 and 3.8 percentage points
respectively. Memory now accounts for over 65% of bill-of-materials costs in
low-end models, intensifying pressure on low-end vendors.
