Counterpoint Research has released a new report showcasing the top ten Q2 2026 smartphone rankings globally. According to the report, the iPhone 17 was the world's best-selling smartphone in Q2 2026, accounting for 6% of the total global smartphone unit sales.
Launched in September 2025, the iPhone 17 has maintained its upward trajectory even after ten months and has managed to stay a fan favourite even though the RAM crisis has plagued the industry.
The Global phone sales tracker puts the iPhone 17 at the top of the chart, followed by the iPhone 17 Pro Max and the iPhone 17 Pro.
Moreover, the research claims that the top 10 phones accounted for 26% of the global smartphone unit sales in Q2 2026. This shows a 2% year-on-year rise and the highest share ever recorded for a June quarter.
However, the overall market declined by 11%. This is obviously due to the current RAM crisis the industry is facing, which has resulted in brands narrowing their focus to premium models and a handful of high-volume phone launches. To put simply, the memory crunch has pushed prices up but has not adjusted with the volume of device sales.
Rising Prices are Shrinking The Market and Pushing Buyers Up
Even though we are aware that the RAM crisis is eating away at sales of brands and reducing the purchasing power of people, Counterpoint's data shows a counterintuitive trend. Even though the overall smartphone market declined globally, Apple's unit sales volumes went up by 5%.
The cluster of sales happened in India, Japan, the MEA region, and nearly doubled in South Korea. Senior analyst Karn Chauhan noted that the base iPhone 17 held the top spot thanks to Bank EMIs and retailer upgrade plans.
He further added that rising smartphone prices pushed consumers to choose high-end smartphones. As a result, more and more people preferred to go with the base iPhone 17 as their premium smartphone choice in Q2 2026.
Moreover, the toned-down iPhone 17e also made it to the list in the 7th spot. Analysts say that the addition of MagSafe charging and double the storage for the price pushed consumers to opt for the iPhone 17e more, compared to the iPhone 16e at around the same time.
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All Other Spots Were Taken by Samsung in Q2 2026
On the Android side of things, only Samsung managed to make the cut to the Global Handset Model Sales Tracker list. The South Korean brand managed to capture 5 spots, with the Galaxy S26 Ultra leading the pack.
Counterpoint notes that this is the first time an ultra-premium Android phone has managed to rank high on the list, specifically taking up the 4th position. It alone accounted for more than half of the entire Galaxy S26 series' sales globally.
Part of that is also due to the fact that the Galaxy S26 series launch was delayed by a month compared to the Galaxy S25 series. This pushed the majority of the sales volumes into Q2 2026. Senior Analyst Harshit Rastogi credited the industry-first Privacy Display and improved AI features as the key reasons for the Galaxy S26 Ultra sales.
Aside from that, Samsung's Galaxy A series held its ground in the entry and mid tiers on affordability and availability. Counterpoint made a specific observation that every Galaxy A series phone in the top 10 list came with a minimum of 6 years of software support. This proves consumers are buying phones for the long run.
The Samsung phones in the list include the Galaxy A07 4G, Galaxy A17 5G, Galaxy A17 4G and Galaxy S26. That said, while Apple and Samsung managed to steal all 10 spots, the industry observation for brands like Nothing, Oppo, OnePlus, Realme, Vivo and more looks grim. Even though some of these brands have managed to rise in specific markets, but in global context, they have all suffered due to the RAM crisis.
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