Apple produced approximately 52 million iPhones in Q2 2026, boosting its share amid a declining global smartphone market, as rising memory costs and strategic pricing influence the industry’s outlook.
TrendForce said Apple produced about 52 million iPhones in the second quarter of 2026, helping the company lift its output 14% from a year earlier even as the wider smartphone market weakened. The research group estimated that Apple accounted for 19% of global handset production in the period, leaving it second only to Samsung.
Global smartphone production fell to 275 million units in the quarter, down 8% year on year. TrendForce said the decline was less severe than it had expected, prompting it to raise its full-year 2026 forecast to 1.07 billion units from 1.05 billion. Even so, the firm still sees the market shrinking by 14% across the year, a sharper contraction than normal cycle variation.
The report linked the stronger-than-expected showing to consumers bringing purchases forward and manufacturers easing some earlier production cuts, rather than to a broad recovery in demand. It also said rising memory prices are reshaping planning across the sector. TrendForce had already warned in June that memory inflation was beginning to hit production decisions, particularly for Android makers with thinner margins.
Apple’s gains were driven mainly by the iPhone 17 line, which TrendForce said benefited from an effective pricing approach. The group also said higher prices for the forthcoming iPhone 18 family now look difficult to avoid, and that this could affect sales momentum. In a separate August analysis, TrendForce estimated that the bill of materials for a 256 GB iPhone 18 Pro could rise sharply, with memory now taking a much larger share of the device’s cost base than it did a year ago.
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