Can Samsung turn things around in the world's largest smartphone market, or is this a sign that the competition has entered a completely new phase?
According to a preliminary report on the Chinese smartphone market in the second quarter of 2026 published by IDC on July 14, 2026, Samsung only accounted for 0.1% of the market share, down from 0.4% in the same period last year, equivalent to a decrease of 60.8% year-on-year. With this result, Samsung ranked 10th in the ranking of smartphone brands in China.
While Samsung still holds the number one position in global smartphone sales, the situation in China is completely different. This market continues to be dominated by domestic brands such as Huawei, OPPO, vivo, Xiaomi and Honor, while Apple still maintains a very strong position in the high-end segment.
One of the important reasons is the change in the competitive structure of the market. IDC said the rising cost of memory and components has forced many Android companies to adjust prices or cut output in the low-cost segment. In that context, Huawei and Apple still maintained their attraction, growing 19.4% and 24.4% respectively over the same period last year.
Besides the selling price factor, Chinese brands now own an increasingly complete ecosystem, a product portfolio covering many segments and a large distribution network.strong in water. This makes it more difficult for foreign brands to expand their market share.
Chinese smartphone market share in the second quarter of 2026
Brand Ranking Market Share Q2/2026 YoY Growth
1 Huawei 22.6% +19.4%
2 Apple 18.1% +24.4%
3 OPPO 16.0% -9.7%
4 vivo 16.0% -11.4%
5 Xiaomi 12.4% -21.7%
6 Honor 11.3%-9.5%
7 Wiko 1.1% -49.2%
8 Lenovo 0.3% -10.4%
9 ZTE 0.3% -33.5%
10 Samsung 0.1% -60.8%
Preliminary IDC source published on July 14, 2026.
Notably, the fact that Samsung only has 0.1% market share does not mean that the company will leave China. This only reflects the scale of smartphone sales in this market in the second quarter of 2026. Samsung continues to do business in China, but is facing great pressure as the gap with the leading group is increasingly widening. There is no official information from Samsung confirming its plan to withdraw from the Chinese market.
From a global perspective, Samsung is still the smartphone manufacturer with the largest market share in the world in the second quarter of 2026. This shows that Samsung's decline mainly takes place in China, rather than reflecting its position in the entire international market.
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