Market Shift: Apple Surges in China Amid Industry Slump

Apple has secured the second largest position in the Chinese smartphone market despite a significant industry wide contraction. The company's performance stands out as a bright spot in an otherwise challenging economic environment for device manufacturers.

According to a new report from Counterpoint Research, total smartphone shipments in China fell by 10% during the third quarter of 2026. This decline marks the weakest performance for the market in the last fourteen years. Rising memory prices are identified as a primary factor weighing on the entire industry. Apple, however, defied the downward trend. The firm estimates that Apple now holds 19.5% of the market share. This represents a gain of 4.8 percentage points compared to the same period last year. As a result, Apple has moved up from sixth place to second, trailing only Huawei.

Huawei remains the market leader with a 21.3% share, which is up 5.3 percentage points year over year. Among the six leading brands, only Huawei and Apple managed to increase their portion of the market. All other major competitors saw their shares shrink. Vivo dropped 2.8 percentage points to reach 15.2%, while OPPO slipped 1.3 points to 15.1%. Xiaomi lost 1.6 points to stand at 13.5%, and HONOR declined 2.2 points to 12.7%. Other smaller manufacturers combined lost 2 points, ending the quarter with a 2.8% share.

Counterpoint attributes Apple's rapid rise partly to the performance of the iPhone 18 Pro series. The report notes that this lineup saw a strong launch in China. Sales in the first three weeks were up 23.5% year over year when compared to the previous iPhone 17 Pro series. The research firm also suggests that the delayed arrival of the base model iPhone 18 may have pushed some consumers toward the more expensive Pro options, thereby boosting early sales figures.

These findings align with a separate report from IDC released a few days prior, though the two firms provide different estimates. IDC stated that Chinese smartphone shipments fell 15.4% year over year in the third quarter. In their calculation, Apple's share of the total rose to 17.8%, even as total iPhone shipments declined by 4.3%. IDC also highlighted a weak global outlook, estimating that worldwide smartphone shipments fell a record 22% year over year during the quarter. Apple recorded the smallest decline among the top five manufacturers, with a drop of just 4%.

Looking ahead, analysts warn that market conditions may remain difficult for the remainder of the year. Higher device prices are causing many consumers to delay their upgrades. Some are waiting for promotional periods or opting for refurbished devices instead of new ones. This shift in consumer behavior could place additional pressure on demand in the fourth quarter, making it a critical period for all major players.