Apple returned to the top of China’s smartphone market in the fourth quarter of 2025. Strong demand for the iPhone 17 lineup helped the company grow even as the overall market shrank under rising prices and component shortages. The result marked a clear turnaround after Apple lagged behind domestic rivals earlier in the year.
Market conditions set the backdrop
According to Counterpoint Research, smartphone shipments in China fell 1.6 percent year over year in Q4 2025 and declined 0.6 percent for the full year. Higher memory prices weakened consumer demand, putting pressure on most brands. Against that trend, Apple’s shipments in China jumped 28 percent year over year during the holiday quarter, lifting its market share to 22 percent and placing it first for the quarter.
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Why Apple pulled ahead
Counterpoint said the iPhone 17 lineup drove the rebound. Roughly 20 percent of Apple’s China shipments in Q4 came from the iPhone 17 series, with demand strongest for the Pro models. Apple also benefited from a faster supply ramp late in the year, which helped it meet holiday demand while some rivals struggled with component availability.
The iPhone Air stood out as the weak spot. Counterpoint noted that the model captured only a low single-digit share of Apple’s China shipments due to its later launch and concerns about feature trade-offs tied to its ultra-thin design. Senior Analyst Ivan Lam said, “The late launch and trade-offs between thinness and the feature set resulted in a slow start for the iPhone Air.”
Full-year rankings and global context
For the full year, Huawei led China with a 16.4 percent share, followed closely by Apple and vivo at around 16 percent each. Xiaomi and Oppo trailed at roughly 15 percent.
According to IDC, global smartphone shipments reached 1.26 billion units in 2025, up 1.9 percent year over year. Apple remained the world’s largest smartphone vendor.
- China Q4 2025 shipments: down 1.6 percent YoY
- Apple China Q4 share: 22 percent
- Apple China Q4 shipment growth: up 28 percent YoY
- Global smartphone shipments 2025: 1.26 billion units
- Apple global shipments: 247.8 million units, 19.7 percent share
Looking ahead, Counterpoint expects memory prices to rise another 40 to 50 percent in Q1 2026, followed by further increases in Q2. As costs climb, manufacturers are likely to cut back low-end models and rely more on subsidies to protect margins.
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