Apple saw a surprising jump in smartphone sales in China during the second quarter of 2026, even as the broader market continued to shrink. The company managed to grow its local shipments by an impressive 24.4 percent compared to the same time last year. This growth happened because the tech giant chose to keep phone prices steady while most of its competitors made their devices more expensive.
Stable prices pushed buyers to upgrade earlier than usual
Overall smartphone shipments in China dropped by 4.3 percent to roughly 66 million units this quarter. This marks the fifth straight quarter of decline for the region, highlighting a persistent slowdown in consumer spending. While brands like Xiaomi saw steep drops in sales, Apple and Huawei both recorded strong growth. Apple successfully grew its market share from 13.9 percent to 18.1 percent.
Research firm IDC notes that rising component and memory costs pushed most Android phone makers to raise their prices starting in late March. Apple took a different route. Instead of raising costs immediately, it kept prices flat and offered targeted promotions on the iPhone 17. The company also warned buyers that prices would likely go up later in the year. This strategy gave hesitant shoppers a good reason to buy a new iPhone right away instead of waiting.
The smartphone market faces a tough road to recovery
Despite the positive quarter for Apple, the overall market remains weak. Sales during China’s popular June shopping festival fell nearly 15 percent compared to 2025. IDC experts expect the market to keep sliding over the next couple of years. The decline could reach 20 percent by the second half of 2026. This drop will happen right around the time the new iPhone 18 Pro and the highly anticipated foldable iPhone are expected to hit store shelves.
High storage costs are unlikely to drop before 2027, which means phone prices will stay high. Analysts do not expect a real market recovery until 2028 or 2029 at the earliest. The bright spot is that customers are just delaying their phone upgrades, not walking away from smartphones entirely.
