Global smartphone market faces record annual decline as chip crunch worsens

Source: Reuters

The global smartphone market is heading for ​its steepest annual contraction on record, with shipments projected to slump by 13.9% this ‌year to 1.08 billion units, Counterpoint Research said on Monday, citing a worsening shortage of memory chips.

The forecast is a downgrade from the 12.4% decline projected in February, with the squeeze in global chip supply exacerbated by the Iran war.

The impact is being felt most acutely in lower-end ​smartphones as chipmakers shift production capacity to AI-related chips, making entry-level devices less ⁠economical to produce.

Global smartphone wholesale prices rose 14% in the first quarter while shipments fell 3.1% ​year on year. That trend is expected to continue as inventory built before the supply shock becomes ​depleted, with some models priced below $150 likely to disappear from the market.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/global-smartphone-market-faces-record-annual-decline-chip-crunch-worsens-2026-06-01/