Counterpoint has released its analysis on the global smartphone sales market for the 20th week, where Huawei and Apple are the only brands with positive growth. Meanwhile, other tech vendors like Samsung and Xiaomi are experiencing a decline.
The report says that the semiconductor dynamics have just widened the gap in phone makers’ sales performance. As a result, the global smartphone sales market has dropped by 8% year-over-year in the 20th week of 2026 for nine years straight.
According to the report, the global market is witnessing sluggish consumer demand and negative growth. But two brands are still benefiting in this tough scenario.
Huawei and Apple are currently outperforming the market average with a sharp jump in the global smartphone sales ranking for the 20th week of this year.
The Chinese tech giant scored 23% year-on-year in sales compared to the same period last year, despite weakness in the overseas market. Huawei has obtained the sixth position in the listing and is planning to soon gain real value globally.
“In particular, Huawei showed strength in the Chinese market, thanks to domestic policy support and a localized supply chain structure”, says Counterpoint.
(Image Credits: Counterpoint)
iPhone maker is standing at the first spot with 10% year-over-year and remains intact despite the existing challenges. Samsung has flat YoY progress, while OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi are seeing a major downfall in the sales ranking.
Associate Director – Sujeong Lim commented on the latest market situation and said that brands with stable supply chains and high visibility into key components like memory were able to maintain more consistent pricing + promotional strategies.
Both Apple and Huawei are in an advantageous position in this regard. But they have to take a cautious approach to balance both the supply chain and broader macroeconomic instability. For memory – the OEMs have to adjust the playbook.
