China Smartphone Slump: Apple Surges to Second Place

Apple climbed to second place in the Chinese smartphone market during the third quarter of 2026. The company achieved this position while the overall industry experienced its weakest performance in 14 years. Counterpoint Research released a report on October 23 detailing the sharp decline in sector volume.

Total smartphone shipments in China fell 10% compared to the same period in 2025. Rising memory prices weighed on manufacturers throughout the quarter. Apple captured 19.5% of the market share during this period. This figure represents an increase of 4.8 percentage points from a year earlier.

Huawei remained the market leader with a 21.3% share. The company’s position grew by 5.3 percentage points year over year. Apple and Huawei were the only two of the top six brands to gain market share. All other major manufacturers lost ground during the quarter.

Vivo saw its share drop 2.8 percentage points to 15.2%. OPPO slipped 1.3 points to 15.1%. Xiaomi declined 1.6 points to 13.5%, and HONOR fell 2.2 points to 12.7%. Smaller manufacturers combined lost 2 points, ending the quarter with a 2.8% share.

Counterpoint attributed Apple’s gain to the iPhone 18 Pro series. The firm noted that the lineup saw a strong launch in China. Sales for the new Pro models rose 23.5% in the first three weeks compared to the iPhone 17 Pro series. The delayed arrival of the base iPhone 18 may have pushed shoppers toward the higher-end Pro options.

IDC published a separate report a few days prior that offered different estimates. IDC calculated that China’s shipments fell 15.4% year over year. Despite a 4.3% drop in iPhone shipments, Apple’s share rose to 17.8% according to IDC data.

IDC also reported that global smartphone shipments fell a record 22% year over year in the quarter. Apple posted the smallest decline among the top five manufacturers, with a 4% drop. Counterpoint warned that higher prices are causing consumers to delay upgrades or buy refurbished devices. This behavior could pressure demand further in the fourth quarter.