Apple Overtakes Rivals to Take Second Place in China

Apple moved from sixth to second place in the Chinese smartphone market during the third quarter of 2026. Counterpoint Research data shows the company secured 19.5% of all smartphone shipments in the region. This represents a 4.8 percentage point gain compared to the same period last year.

The overall market contracted sharply during the quarter. Total shipments fell 10% year over year, marking the lowest volume recorded in 14 years. Rising memory costs played a central role in this downturn, forcing manufacturers to adjust pricing strategies.

Huawei remained the market leader with a 21.3% share, up 5.3 percentage points from a year ago. Only Huawei and Apple increased their market position among the six leading brands. All other major manufacturers lost ground during the quarter.

Vivo’s share declined 2.8 points to 15.2%, while OPPO dropped 1.3 points to 15.1%. Xiaomi saw its share fall 1.6 points to 13.5%, and HONOR lost 2.2 points, ending the quarter at 12.7%. Remaining manufacturers combined held a 2.8% share, down 2 points year over year.

Counterpoint attributed Apple’s surge to the strong launch of the iPhone 18 Pro series. Sales of the new Pro models rose 23.5% in the first three weeks compared to the iPhone 17 Pro series. The firm also noted that the delayed release of the base iPhone 18 may have pushed more buyers toward the Pro line.

IDC released conflicting data earlier this month. That firm estimated the Chinese market fell 15.4% year over year in the third quarter. IDC calculated Apple’s share at 17.8%, noting that actual iPhone unit shipments still decreased by 4.3% despite the higher market share.

IDC also reported that global smartphone shipments fell 22% year over year, a record drop for the quarter. Apple experienced the smallest decline among the top five global manufacturers, with its units down only 4%. Counterpoint warned that high prices are causing consumers to delay upgrades, a trend that may persist into the fourth quarter.