Apple became the leader in smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2026

The American IT company Apple became the world leader in smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2026. This was reported on April 10 by Reuters with reference to a report by the analytical company Counterpoint Research.

According to Counterpoint, Apple led the smartphone market for the first time in the first quarter with a 21% share. The report clarifies that Samsung, a South Korean company, took the second place with an indicator of 20%, and Xiaomi, whose smartphone shipments accounted for 13% of the entire market, took the third place.

However, analysts noted that global smartphone shipments declined by 6% compared to the same period in 2025 amid the Middle East conflict and its impact on supply chains.

The data generally indicates a downward trend in device shipments, driven by the desire of "memory chip manufacturers to prioritize artificial intelligence data centers over consumer electronics manufacturers," said Counterpoint analyst Shillie Jain.

Don't have rubles in the store: Russians are facing problems when using Apple services

The policy of limiting the "apple" ecosystem in the Russian Federation may continue in the coming months

MacRumors reported on April 2 that Apple does not intend to release the iPhone 18 Pro and 18 Pro Max phones in black. In addition, the "traditional" shades of iPhones will remain. At the same time, the company plans not to introduce "funny" colors, but to stick to the usual shades.

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