Why Huawei and Apple Grew While China’s Smartphone Market Fell Again in Q2 2026

Apple gaining share in China

China’s smartphone shipments came in at roughly 66 million units in the second quarter of 2026, down 4.3% year over year and the fifth straight quarter of decline. Rising memory and component costs pushed most Android vendors to raise prices, which cooled upgrade demand. Huawei and Apple were the exceptions, growing close to 20% and 25% respectively.

Huawei and Apple moved in the opposite direction for reasons that were just as concrete. Both held prices steady while the rest of the Android field raised them, and both layered on targeted promotions. Huawei kept widening its lineup to cover more of the market, while Apple’s early signaling of price increases on its second-half products pulled some buyers forward into the iPhone 17 series sooner than they might have bought otherwise. Strong brand pull helped as well.

The top six vendors now hold about 96% of the market, which keeps squeezing smaller and mid-sized brands and pushes concentration higher.

China Smartphone Market at a Glance, Q2 2026

• Total shipments: about 66 million units, down 4.3% year over year
• Fifth consecutive quarter of year-over-year decline
• First-half 2026 shipments: about 134 million units, down 4.2% year over year
• Huawei and Apple: each up roughly 20% year over year
• “618” festival smartphone sales: down close to 15% year over year
• Vendor tiers: Huawei and Apple lead, followed by OPPO and vivo, then Xiaomi and Honor close behind
• Top six vendors: about 96% of total market share

Source: IDC

NB: Other analysts are reporting similar story globally but with Samsung instead of Huawei as growing (apart from Apple.)