IDC: Hit hard by the memory chip crisis, global smartphone shipments plunged 22% year-on-year in the third quarter.

Zhito Finance APP has learned that preliminary data from IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker shows that in the third quarter of 2026, the global smartphone market fell sharply by 22.0% year over year, with shipments of only 255.3 million units. Shipments in this quarter declined by 22% year over year, marking the largest single-quarter year-over-year drop since records began. The memory chip crisis driven by the AI wave continues to batter the smartphone industry, with prices of core components soaring to historic highs, while supply chain availability also remains under sustained pressure.