Counterpoint says phone chip shipments dropped 21% in Q3 2026 as memory costs rose, yet Apple and Samsung were the only big names to gain share.
The number of chips going into new phones fell 21% in the third quarter of 2026 compared with a year earlier, according to Counterpoint Research. Apple and Samsung were the only major chip vendors to gain market share. Everyone else either lost ground or stayed behind.
The main chip in a phone is called a system on a chip, or SoC. It handles most of what the phone does. Counterpoint tracks how many of these each company supplies. The report did not say how many chips were shipped in the quarter, only that the total fell 21%.
Smaller makers grouped as other manufacturers also grew, from 4% to 8%.
The backdrop is rising memory costs. Memory is the part of a phone that stores data and helps apps run. When it gets more expensive, phone makers pay more to build each device. Most raised prices more than once this year. Apple waited until September, when it launched the iPhone 18 Pro series, to raise iPhone prices.
On its fiscal Q4 2026 earnings call, Apple called the memory pricing situation "unprecedented." It warned that more increases would keep pressuring its profit margins in the coming quarters.
September brought three major flagship chips built on TSMC's 2nm process: Apple's A20 series, MediaTek's Dimensity 9600 Pro and Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 series. Counterpoint analyst Shivani Parashar said they should lift premium chip shipments in Q4 2026. Volumes are still likely to stay below Q4 2025 levels.
For the full year, Counterpoint expects chip shipments to fall 20% in 2026, then drop another 3% to 4% in 2027. It also expects memory prices to keep rising next year.
The report is about chips, not prices, so it does not say what any phone will cost. But the pattern it describes points one way. Memory is getting more expensive, and Counterpoint expects that to continue. Anyone planning to buy a phone soon should not count on prices easing next year.
Memory costs are shrinking the phone chip market, and Counterpoint expects them to keep climbing next year, so do not bank on cheaper phones soon.
A browser that Android Authority calls the best on Android is not in the Play Store, but it can still be installed with a few extra steps.
Read more: A top Android browser is not in the Play Store, but you can still install itA Tom's Guide poll found only 5 of 200 readers shop for AI in earbuds and headphones. Sound quality won easily, so check AI claims before you pay extra.
Read more: Few shoppers want AI in headphones, but brands keep adding itA leaker says the iPhone 20 could fold the Action Button into Camera Control, leaving one button for both jobs. It is an early, unverified rumor.
Read more: Next year's iPhone may merge its two extra buttons into one
