The US smartphone market experienced a further decline in the second quarter of 2026, with sales dropping 5% amid rising prices, economic strain, and shrinking demand especially in the budget segment, casting doubt on the upcoming sales outlook.
Counterpoint Research says the US smartphone market weakened in the second quarter of 2026, with sales down 5% from a year earlier as higher prices and broader economic pressure continued to weigh on buyers. Samsung was among the vendors affected, although the slowdown was not limited to one brand.
The research firm said memory price increases were one of the factors behind the decline, with the sharpest fall coming in the sub-$100 segment, where sales dropped 64% year on year. That point matters because the lowest-priced handsets are usually the most exposed when households face tighter budgets and manufacturers raise prices.
Counterpoint also said the four biggest vendors in the US, Apple, Samsung, Motorola and Google, saw combined sales fall 4% from the second quarter of 2025, while the rest of the market fared much worse, with sales down 45% year on year. Earlier reports on the first quarter showed a similar pattern, with Apple holding a dominant lead in the US and Motorola taking share in the budget tier as Samsung’s own sales softened.
The outlook for the next quarter is not encouraging. Counterpoint expects average selling prices in the US to rise in the third quarter of 2026, largely because Apple is due to launch its next iPhones and tends to account for more than half of US smartphone sales during that period. That could leave Samsung and other rivals facing another difficult selling season if demand remains price-sensitive.
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