The average smartphone sold in the third quarter of 2026 cost $442, a record, according to preliminary Counterpoint Research data published November 3. That is 27% more than a year earlier, and it happened while shipments fell 19%. The industry sold fewer phones and made more money doing it, because each phone cost more.
Total global smartphone revenue still grew 3% year on year to $114 billion. The arithmetic is simple: higher prices more than offset fewer units. Counterpoint’s updated shipment decline of 19% is slightly better than its preliminary October estimate of 20%, but the direction is unchanged. Brands are also trimming marginal models from their ranges, which means fewer cheap options for buyers, not just pricier ones.
Apple takes half the money
Apple is the clearest winner of the price surge. It posted its highest-ever third-quarter revenue, up 17% year on year, and took a record 50% share of all global smartphone revenue. Its average selling price rose 19% while shipments stayed nearly flat.
Counterpoint links that gain to three things: the iPhone 18 Pro launched at higher prices, the base iPhone 18 was not part of the launch lineup, and older models got price increases in September. The firm describes this as pricing power, and in practice it means Apple can pass rising memory costs to buyers with little effect on demand. Apple has separately said memory costs will keep rising, a warning that connects directly to the supply crunch behind these prices. Our coverage of Apple’s latest earnings shows the same pressure on the Duo side, where demand already outstrips supply.
Samsung holds shipments, Xiaomi holds flat, OPPO and vivo retreat
| Brand | Revenue share / trend | Average price trend |
|---|---|---|
| Apple | 50% of revenue, up 17% | Up 19% |
| Samsung | 19% of revenue, up 14%; No. 1 in shipments at 22% | Up 21% to $367 |
| Xiaomi | Revenue flat | Up double digits |
| OPPO (incl. OnePlus, realme) | Revenue down 26% | Not disclosed |
| vivo | Revenue down 22% | Not disclosed |
Samsung’s price rise came from increases across the Galaxy A series plus a bigger contribution from the Galaxy S26 Ultra and Galaxy Z Fold8. Xiaomi kept revenue flat while raising prices, passing on component costs and moving away from entry-level phones, with the Redmi Note 15 series and Xiaomi 17T among its top revenue drivers. OPPO and vivo went the other way, prioritizing margins and scaling back in non-core markets, and their revenue fell sharply as a result.
Memory is the thread through all of it
Behind the price rises sits the memory shortage, and a second Counterpoint dataset published the same day shows how it is reshaping the chip market. Global smartphone application processor shipments fell 21% year on year in the third quarter. Apple and Samsung, which design their own chips and sell premium phones, gained share, while merchant chip vendors that depend on mid-range and budget phones lost ground.
| Chip vendor | Q3 2025 share | Q3 2026 share |
|---|---|---|
| MediaTek | 34% | 28% |
| Qualcomm | 25% | 22% |
| Apple | 17% | 21% |
| Samsung | 6% | 8% |
| UNISOC | 14% | 13% |
Smartphone memory prices rose 5% to 10% quarter on quarter in Q3, with a further increase of around 5% expected in Q4, as longer replacement cycles and conservative inventory management compounded the shortage. Counterpoint senior analyst Shilpi Jain singled out the cheapest phones as most at risk: “The entry-level segment is particularly vulnerable, as there is little room to absorb higher costs without compromising margins.”
What it means if you are buying a phone
First, the budget segment is where the pain lands first, and it is already reaching shoppers. Lava phones in India will cost up to Rs 3,000 more from November 15, and India’s third-quarter shipments hit a decade low as prices rose. If you are shopping under $300, the model you want may cost more, or quietly disappear from the range, before the year ends.
Second, do not wait for a price collapse. Counterpoint forecasts that shipment declines will outpace price growth in Q4, so quarterly revenue will shrink, but full-year 2026 revenue should still finish above 2025. In 2027, elevated memory costs should keep pushing prices up while shipments fall more slowly. Cost relief is expected only in 2028, and even then the firm suggests brands may spend the savings on better hardware rather than lower prices.
The practical takeaway is unglamorous but useful. If you need a phone now, buy the best value in your budget now rather than timing the market, and pay attention to storage tiers, since memory is the component driving the increases. If you can wait, the realistic window for relief is 2028, not next quarter. And if you are eyeing Apple’s foldable, the wait is already long: see our guide to getting an iPhone Duo sooner despite the 89-day wait.
Sources: Counterpoint Research via AndroidPure and BigGo Finance.
