5G smartphone shipments across the Middle East and Africa rose 8% year-on-year in the second quarter of 2026. New data from Counterpoint Research confirms the jump. It stands out because it happened during a quarter when the region’s overall smartphone market actually shrank.
Globally, 5G shipments grew by just 1% over the same period. So the gap between the MEA figure and the global number is wide. Analysts point to two reasons. First, the region had a low base in Q2 2025. That means even modest gains now show up as a bigger percentage jump. Second, telecom operators have been rolling out 5G networks faster. Government policy across the region is backing that rollout too.
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Meanwhile, the wider smartphone market told a different story. Total shipments fell 10% year-on-year. There was no major sales occasion during the quarter to boost demand. In fact, a shift in the Islamic calendar pushed key buying periods into the first quarter instead. That left the second quarter without its usual lift.
Budget phones took the hardest hit. The sub-$250 price segment dropped 26% year-on-year. That is the steepest decline of any price band. A global memory chip shortage is largely to blame. Rising costs pushed manufacturers to ration limited supply. They chose to prioritize pricier, higher-margin models over entry-level devices. As a result, more 5G-capable phones reached the market, even as overall volumes fell.
Samsung and Apple led the 5G charge. Together, the two brands drove most of the region’s 5G growth. Samsung’s market share jumped from 22% to 32%. That is a 30% surge year-on-year. Its Galaxy A07 and A17 models helped, along with the recently launched Galaxy S26 flagship series. Apple grew too. Its MEA market share rose to 10%, up from 8% a year earlier, a 28% increase.
However, most of Samsung’s growth did not come from new buyers. Since the market shrank overall, it came from rivals losing ground instead. Counterpoint noted that the units Samsung gained largely came out of shares held by Infinix, Tecno and Xiaomi. Chinese brands such as Transsion and Xiaomi struggled with supply shortages during the quarter. That left retail shelves empty in parts of the Middle East.
Still, not every brand lost ground. realme expanded its MEA presence by diverting phone units originally meant for India. This let the brand grow locally even as its global shipments fell 23% year-on-year. It shows how growth in a supply-constrained market often comes down to where a brand sends its stock, not how much stock it can produce.
Overall, the market is moving up the price curve. But this shift is not driven by consumer choice. Component scarcity is doing most of the pushing. Analysts expect the memory shortage to keep squeezing supply through the rest of 2026. That means budget 5G devices could stay hard to find for a while yet.
For now, the MEA region remains one of the few places where 5G adoption is outpacing the global average, even as the smartphone market around it contracts.
