According to data from market research company Omdia in the first quarter of 2026, in the Middle East region, Honor for the first time rose to become the second largest smartphone manufacturer with a breakthrough growth of 73% compared to the same period last year (YoY).
Meanwhile, other big players have low or negative growth rates. For example, Samsung grew by 1% compared to the same period last year. Honor's growth rate is also better than Transsion, Apple and Xiaomi.
This impressive result is based on continuous improvements in retail system operation capacity, the strategy of expanding a wide distribution network and the increasing brand recognition of Honor in the Gulf countries. Specifically, for the 300 - 500 USD price segment, Honor achieved a growth rate of 130%, quickly taking 24% market share in the segment and approaching Samsung's leading position.
In the African market, Honor has the strongest annual growth rate in the industry with 101%. Thanks to strategic companionship with major carriers in South Africa and flexible implementation of financial support solutions, Honor not only increased output but also significantly increased the company's average selling price (ASP) in the region, affirming its successful penetration into higher price segments.
In Europe, the smartphone market grew 2% in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year, with more than 33 million phones sold. Samsung accounted for the largest market share with 38%, reaching 12.6 million units. Apple achieved a growth rate of 9% with 8.8 million iPhones, thanks to strong demand for the iPhone 17 line, along with the expansion of the mid-range segment from iPhone 15 and iPhone 16e.
Honor ranks 6th in market share, but the company's output in the first quarter of 2026 grew by more than 60% compared to the same period in 2025. This is a very meaningful achievement when the general market in Europe only slightly increased by 2% and smartphone prices here are reaching a historical peak.
In general, Honor's growth is a challenge to other smartphone brands, such as Oppo, Xiaomi or Vivo because this still quite young brand has occupied a high position in many other regions, even when the market is not really breakthrough.
In Southeast Asia, industry-wide factory output fell 9% in the first quarter of 2026 due to manufacturers prioritizing profit margins. However, Honor also achieved annual growth of 28%, rising to 3rd place in market share in demanding markets like Singapore.
At the same time, in Latin America (LATAM), the Chinese phone company continues to maintain a solid position in fourth place on the entire market with a stable growth rate of 30% YoY, maintaining its form in the face of pressure on increasing component costs in the early 2026 period.
