US smartphone market shrinks by 3% in Q1, expects a further decline in 2026

Omdia just shared its analysis on the US smartphone market in Q1 2026 and things are not looking great. The overall market shrank 3% year-over-year to 33.4 million units.

Firstly, the Q1 2026 decline comes after smartphone manufacturers accelerated an inventory build-up in Q1 2025 in anticipation of the upcoming import tariffs imposed by the Trump Administration. Secondly, the smartphone market is starting to feel the pressure from ever-rising memory chip prices, and there’s a significant slowdown in smartphone purchases.

Additionally, delayed smartphone launches contributed to a…