Samsung Electronics (005930.KS), which lost its annual smartphone sales crown to Apple last year, reclaimed the top position in the first quarter of this year.
Market research firm Omdia announced Wednesday that Samsung Electronics captured 22% of the global smartphone market in the first quarter, edging out Apple's 20% share.
"Samsung reclaimed the top spot on the back of solid premium product demand and strong Galaxy S26 series pre-order performance, despite disruptions to its mid-range model launch cycle," Omdia said.
Samsung had raised prices by $100 (approximately 150,000 won) each for the standard and Plus models of the Galaxy S26 series unveiled in February, sparking concerns about sales volume. However, the lineup appears to have achieved commercial success.
Omdia estimated that Galaxy S26 series pre-orders increased more than 10% globally compared to its predecessor, the S25. The firm added that Apple also posted strong sales driven by high demand for its iPhone 17 series.
The duopoly between Samsung and Apple in the smartphone market continues to intensify. The two companies' combined market share reached 42%, up 3 percentage points from 39% in the same period last year.
Chinese manufacturers struggled to keep pace. Xiaomi maintained its third-place position from last year, but its share declined from 14% to 11%, a drop of 3 percentage points. Oppo (10%) and Vivo (7%), which held fourth and fifth places respectively, also saw their shares decrease by 1 percentage point each year-on-year.
"Most Android manufacturers outside the top two are struggling with both sales volume and margins," Omdia said, explaining that manufacturers dependent on budget and mid-range products were particularly affected by the global memory shortage.
Meanwhile, rival research firm Counterpoint Research reported that Apple maintained the top position in the first quarter with 21% market share, compared to Samsung's 20%.
Counterpoint Research also forecast that smartphone sales would decline 2.1% this year due to the memory supply crunch.
