Smartphone shipments in the Middle East excluding Turkey fell by 19% in Q2 2026 due to higher costs and weaker consumer confidence, with a notable shift towards higher-end devices and resilience in the UAE and Qatar.
Smartphone shipments across the Middle East, excluding Turkey, fell 19% year on year to 10.6 million units in the second quarter of 2026, according to Omdia, as the region absorbed the effects of higher component costs, tighter supply and weaker consumer confidence. The fall was sharper than the global decline reported for the same period, which industry trackers said reflected a broad slowdown but not one evenly felt across all markets or brands.
The weakness was most pronounced at the low end of the market. Shipments of handsets priced below $200 dropped 42% from a year earlier, while Iraq recorded a 36% decline as demand softened in markets most exposed to entry-level devices. Omdia said manufacturers had become more selective, preferring to defend margins rather than chase volume through aggressive discounting.
At the same time, the middle and upper tiers held up better. Devices priced above $300 rose 16% year on year, and phones with 256GB of storage made up about 55% of shipments, underlining the region’s shift towards higher specifications. Premium devices above $800 reached 1.9 million units, the highest second-quarter total ever recorded in the Middle East, with Apple again a major driver of demand, according to Omdia.
The United Arab Emirates and Qatar were the clearest exceptions to the regional downturn. Omdia said the UAE’s market slipped only 7%, helped by a stronger retail and e-commerce environment and financing offers that made upgrades easier, while Qatar grew 2% on steadier economic conditions and sustained interest in premium phones. The result was a 25% rise in average selling price across the region to $448, the highest second-quarter level on record. Manish Praveen Kumar, principal analyst at Omdia, said the market is facing “a convergence of necessity and strategy” as vendors prioritise profitability and revenue over unit sales.
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