Samsung takes lead again in Q1, but there’s bad news for other Android brands

Samsung ceded its lead in the global smartphone market to Apple in the fourth quarter of 2025, but the company usually regains the lead in the next quarter. The new data actually brings good news for Samsung, but bad news for other top Android brands.

Tracking firm Omdia posted its Q1 2026 global smartphone market share report, and Samsung was the top manufacturer for the quarter. The Korean manufacturer’s share of shipments was 22%, compared to Apple’s 20% share.

Samsung and Apple also saw year-on-year growth of 8% and 10%, respectively. Unfortunately, there is bad news for the other manufacturers in the top five as they all reported annual declines. Xiaomi remained third in Q1, but saw a massive 19% decline in shipments. Meanwhile, fourth-ranked Oppo was just one percentage point behind Xiaomi, but saw an annual decline of 6%. Finally, Vivo remained in fifth place but saw a 7% decline in shipments year-on-year.

Xiaomi’s decline was particularly blamed on the fact that more than half of its shipments were devices priced under $200. In fact, budget phones are more vulnerable to skyrocketing prices of components, as we’ve seen with the AI-induced RAM crisis.

However, the fastest growing manufacturer in the top ten was HONOR. The company was only ranked seventh but saw annual growth of 19%. Omdia attributed this performance to rising sales in the Middle East and Africa, although the brand saw a decline in shipments in its home market.

In any case, I’m curious to see what the rest of the year holds for Xiaomi and OPPO in particular. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if Oppo overtakes Xiaomi to take third place in the second quarter.