Samsung Electronics is expected to reclaim the annual global smartphone shipment lead from Apple this year, with Counterpoint Research forecasting Samsung shipments to rise 0.8% while Apple shipments fall 2.1% and worldwide shipments decline 14.3%. Samsung’s broad product range, regional sales base, in-house component sourcing, and carrier and distribution networks may provide greater flexibility amid higher mobile-memory and chipset costs. Its smartphone plant utilization rate reached 84.1% in the first half of this year, near pre-COVID-19 levels, while Galaxy S26 demand, AI features and improving Exynos processors support the recovery. Internal MX Division tests found the next-generation Exynos 2700 ahead of Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 6 in CPU, GPU, on-device AI and power efficiency. Samsung could reach 22.6% global share versus Apple’s 22.5%, while major Chinese makers are forecast to see shipments fall 15% to 34%. The Exynos 2700 is planned for Samsung Foundry’s SF2P second-generation 2-nanometer process, potentially lowering application-processor costs and supporting internal foundry and System LSI utilization.