Posted Aug 13, 2026 at 9:49 AM UTCDThe sub-$100 phone market is disappearing.Sales dropped 64% year-on-year in Q2, according to research from Counterpoint, as manufacturers raised prices or simply stopped shipping cheaper models. Samsung and Motorola have been the only brands to benefit, as smaller companies became unable to undercut them on price. That helped both grow their market share in prepaid phones.Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Dominic Preston
The sub-$100 phone market is disappearing.
Sales dropped 64% year-on-year in Q2, according to research from Counterpoint, as manufacturers raised prices or simply stopped shipping cheaper models. Samsung and Motorola have been the only brands to benefit, as smaller companies became unable to undercut them on price. That helped both grow their market share in prepaid phones. [Image: The prepaid phone market shifted in Samsung and Motorola’s favor. https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/08/813594c0-9692-11f1-9256-db0728d08812.webp?quality=90&strip=all]
85 words~1 min read
