LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 10, 2026--
According to Omdia’s latest research, the global smartphone market performed above expectations in 1Q26, growing by 1% year on year. However, this growth does not yet reflect the full impact of rising supply-side costs, as vendor inventory frontloading in the channel temporarily supported shipments. Memory and storage costs are increasing sharply, while vendors have not fully implemented retail price increases across all markets. Mobile DRAM and NAND prices rose by around 90% quarter-on-quarter in Q1 and are expected to increase a further 30% in Q2, significantly increasing bill-of-materials. At the same time, early signs of logistics and trade flow disruption are adding friction to global supply chains.
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Samsung reclaimed the top position in Q1, supported by resilient flagship demand and strong Galaxy S26 series pre-orders – up more than 10% globally compared with the Galaxy S25 series – despite launch delays impacting its mid-range refresh cycle. Apple also delivered a strong quarter, supported by stable pricing and steady demand for the iPhone 17 series, despite some regional supply disruptions. Beyond the top two, most Android vendors are facing challenges on both volumes and margins, responding with tighter portfolios, selective launches and more disciplined pricing. However, within the “Others” category, Huawei’s strong domestic performance, supported by competitive pricing, and HONOR’s continued overseas expansion drove share gains.
“Vendors have little choice but to raise prices as cost pressures intensify”, said Sanyam Chaurasia, Principal Analyst at Omdia. “While price increases are happening across the industry, the impact is not uniform. Vendors with greater exposure to entry and mid-tier segments, such as Xiaomi and TRANSSION, are more exposed due to thinner margins and limited pricing power. In contrast, Apple has largely held pricing, while Samsung is taking a more market-selective approach. Beyond headline price increases, vendors are also managing margins through configuration changes, reduced promotions and tighter channel pricing. This is creating a more complex pricing environment, with financing and trade-ins playing a bigger role in supporting demand.”
“The worst is still ahead as cost-driven headwinds weigh on the smartphone value chain,” commented Runar Bjorhovde, Principal Analyst at Omdia. “In the near term, higher pricing is creating a demand shock, with consumers delaying purchases, before gradually adapting as pricing stabilises. At the same time, uncertainty around pricing and availability is prompting some channel partners to increase inventory, temporarily supporting shipments. However, this will delay rather than offset the impact for vendors, with pressure expected to intensify as the year progresses. Vendors will need to focus on margin protection, tighter portfolios and higher-value opportunities while strengthening brand and channel execution. Omdia expects the global smartphone market to be increasingly skewed to the downside in 2026, with shipments likely to decline by around 15% amid escalating costs and macro volatility.
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Worldwide smartphone shipment market share, top vendors, 1Q23 to 1Q26
Global smartphone market grew 1% in 1Q26 as cost pressures build and demand outlook weakens.
LONDON (AP) — King Charles III on Wednesday will deliver the British government’s legislative program for the coming year to lawmakers with all the pomp and historic trappings that accompany the ceremonial opening of Parliament.
The question is whether Prime Minister Keir Starmer will be around to implement it and, even if he remains in post, whether he will have the authority to push his proposals through.
The embattled prime minister has been urged to set a timetable for his departure by more than a fifth of the Labour Party's lawmakers in the House of Commons. Some junior ministers have quit the government in protest, but no one has yet challenged Starmer directly.
Early on Wednesday, Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who is one of those widely tipped to be interested in succeeding Starmer, had a meeting with the prime minister that lasted less than 20 minutes. Streeting did not speak to reporters on his way in or out of 10 Downing Street.
Streeting is widely expected to break his silence after the King's Speech, which represents Starmer's latest effort to save his premiership after Labour suffered huge losses in local and regional elections last week. If those results were repeated in a national election that has to be held by 2029, the party would be overwhelmingly ejected from power.
Labour secured a landslide election victory in 2024, driving the Conservatives from power after 14 years, but since then the party’s popularity has plunged and Starmer is getting much of the blame. The reasons include a series of policy missteps, a struggling British economy, a perceived lack of vision on the prime minister’s part and questions over his judgment. Starmer’s choice of Peter Mandelson as U.K. ambassador to Washington despite ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has continued to haunt him.
The King’s Speech, which is written by the government, will be a moment when the historic power and grandeur of Britain will collide with the reality of the modern United Kingdom, a mid-sized country with an underfunded military, rising debt and waning international influence. It's a country struggling to control immigration and pay for public services such as health care and education.
The speech is just one element of the state opening of Parliament, a traditional set piece of the political calendar that uses carefully choreographed pageantry to showcase Britain’s evolution from an absolute monarchy to a parliamentary democracy where real power is vested in the elected House of Commons.
The speech is expected to include proposals to address the cost of living crisis, create a national wealth fund to stimulate private investment in public infrastructure and tighten rules for asylum seekers. It may also include the government’s controversial proposal to abolish jury trials for some cases in England and Wales, lower the voting age to 16 and introduce a “duty of candor” for public officials, requiring them to tell the truth and cooperate with investigations.
The problem for Starmer is that many of the proposals expected to appear in the speech have been announced previously. That raises the question of whether he will be able to win over his doubters.
Even so, the speech is the focal point of a day of ceremony and tradition that has been followed since 1852, with elements of the program dating to the 16th century.
The monarch traditionally travels from Buckingham Palace to the Houses of Parliament, a distance of less than a mile, in a horse-drawn carriage. He then dons the Imperial State Crown and robe of state before leading a procession into the chamber of the unelected House of Lords.
A Lords official called Black Rod, named for the ebony rod he or she carries, then goes to the House of Commons to summon the chamber’s members to a joint sitting of Parliament. The doors to the Commons chamber are slammed in Black Rod’s face to symbolize the chamber’s independence from the monarchy, and they aren’t opened until Black Rod strikes the doors three times.
Once members of the Commons have crowded into the Lords’ chamber, the king delivers a speech written by the government and laying out its legislative program for the coming session of Parliament.
After the speech is read and the king leaves, the two houses of Parliament begin several days of debate on its contents.
Yeoman warders take part in the ceremonial search ahead of the state opening of Parliament at the Houses of Parliament in London, Wednesday May 13, 2026. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP)
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria leave 10 Downing Street to attend the State Opening of Parliament at the Houses of Parliament in London, Wednesday, May 13, 2026.(AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)
Yeoman warders take part in the ceremonial search ahead of the state opening of Parliament at the Houses of Parliament in London, Wednesday May 13, 2026. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP)
Peers look on as Yeoman warders take part in the ceremonial search ahead of the state opening of Parliament at the Houses of Parliament in London, Wednesday May 13, 2026. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP)
Members of the Guards march ahead of Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla leaving Buckingham Palace to attend the State Opening of Parliament at the Palace of Westminster in London, Wednesday, May 13, 2026.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
FILE - King Charles III looks up as he reads the King's Speech, during the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords in London on July 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, Pool, File)
