Substitution of seats: Apple has lost its leadership in the Russian Federation in the sale of smartphones in money

For the first time, Apple lost to Samsung the first place in terms of smartphone sales in Russia in monetary terms. According to the results of the first nine months of 2026, the share of the iPhone was about 23% against 24% for the South Korean manufacturer, according to the materials of an international partner company of several electronics manufacturers, which Izvestia reviewed. Samsung is also being talked about strengthening its position in retail chains. Experts note that the share of the American corporation has decreased in physical terms. Demand is affected by the high cost of the iPhone, and the limitations of the functionality of the new models for Russian users may further constrain interest in the devices.

How Apple's market position has shrunk over the past year

Apple no longer ranks first in terms of smartphone sales in Russia, according to the materials of the partner company of several electronics manufacturers for less than three quarters. Over the year, its share in monetary terms decreased by about 16 percentage points, to 23%, while Samsung's share increased by more than 10 percentage points, to 24%. At the same time, analysts of the partner company estimate the share of the American corporation in smartphone sales in units at about 7%, which corresponds to fifth place.

According to Eldar Murtazin, a leading analyst at Mobile Research Group, Apple has indeed lost its sales leadership in monetary terms for the first time since at least the end of the 2000s, when official iPhone shipments to the Russian market began. According to the results of the first nine months of 2025, Samsung occupied 20% of the market in monetary terms, and Apple - 30%, the expert claims. In physical terms, according to him, the share of the Apple corporation decreased from 4.8% to 3.9% over the year. The company currently ranks seventh in Russia in this indicator, compared to sixth a year earlier.

— The iPhone has become too expensive for customers who are now generally saving on electronics. The device is more expensive than most Android flagships — only flexible smartphones belonging to a different user and price category are more expensive. In addition, there are many restrictions for domestic users that do not contribute to the popularity of the Apple gadget," the expert pointed out.

Izvestia has sent requests to Apple. Samsung declined to comment.

The loss of Apple Corporation's leadership in the Russian smartphone market in monetary terms was also confirmed by M.Video. In general, in the first nine months of 2026, smartphone sales decreased by 11.7% in quantitative terms and by 5% in monetary terms compared to the same period last year, the company said.

— The main feature of the current dynamics in the smartphone market is a noticeable redistribution of demand between brands. At the same time, Samsung and Honor have become an exception to the general trend: both brands have increased sales both in units and in monetary terms," said Nikita Tolpygin, head of the Telecom and Gadgets department at M.Video.

According to him, the structure of consumer demand is also changing: buyers prefer brands that can offer a wide range of models, relevant features and the optimal price-performance ratio. Against this background, the average cost of a smartphone increased by 7.6%, to 25.8 thousand rubles, he noted.

Why is the demand for Apple smartphones decreasing?

Demand for the iPhone is declining amid the numerous restrictions imposed by Apple on users in the Russian Federation. A new generation of smartphones has entered the market with a record number of functions, which the company has limited access to for Russian users, Izvestia wrote. In particular, owners of new devices will not be able to use the updated version of Siri with a personal context, which takes into account the contents of applications and performs complex actions inside the system. The official ChatGPT integration via Siri and the built—in Writing Tools, which are tools for rewriting, shortening, and changing text style directly in applications, are also unavailable. In addition, Genmoji for creating your own emojis, the Image Playground image generator, the Visual Intelligence system for recognizing objects using a camera, advanced photo search and the Clean Up function are not available. The restrictions also apply to instant transfer of messages, phone conversations and audio via AirPods and a number of other features.

However, not all participants in the electronics market record the change of leader. MTS told Izvestia that Apple and Samsung maintain parity in sales in monetary terms, and the ratio of indicators within individual periods depends on the release calendar of the flagship models. The presentation and sales launch of the new iPhones fall at the end of the period under review, so the nine-month data does not fully reflect the demand for the new generation of devices. Samsung has a similar effect: after the flagship presentations in January and July, demand for the brand's devices is noticeably increasing.

In the "Connection.ON" believes that the South Korean manufacturer has significantly strengthened its position in the Russian market, primarily in physical terms, but it is premature to say that the company has surpassed Apple in monetary terms.

"In our opinion, the key factor is representation in all price segments: from affordable A—series models to flagship Galaxy S and Fold and Flip folding devices," the company believes.

Samsung has strengthened its position, among other things, by lowering prices for mid-range models, agrees Oleg Yablokov, NTI wireless expert. In the future, the market will continue to decline in monetary terms due to rising costs and longer device life.

According to him, the manufacturer has focused on two key areas of growth — pricing in the middle segment and strengthening its position in the category of folding smartphones, where the company's share in monetary terms exceeds 68%. At the same time, part of the Apple audience was faced with the limitations of familiar services and applications, which could have influenced the choice in favor of Android devices, Oleg Yablokov notes. In the future, in his opinion, Samsung will be able to maintain a strong position due to a wide range of models — from affordable devices to flagship folding smartphones.