- China's smartphone shipments fell 3.3% year-on-year to 69 million units in the first quarter.
- The overall performance slightly exceeded expectations, primarily driven by the strong momentum of Huawei and Apple.
China's smartphone shipments saw a slight decline in the first quarter, but the overall market performed better than expected.
Smartphone shipments in China fell 3.3% year-on-year to about 69 million units in the first quarter, according to data released Wednesday by market research firm IDC.
The overall performance was slightly above expectations, primarily driven by the strong push from Huawei and Apple, IDC said.
Huawei shipped 13.9 million units this quarter, capturing a 19.8% market share.
Improved supply of its Mate 80 series and the foldable Pura X — which surpassed 1.5 million units in shipments within a year of its launch — served as the core drivers of its buck-the-trend growth.
Apple followed closely with 13.1 million units shipped and an 18.9% market share. Although demand for the iPhone 17 series remained robust, supply shortages prevented the company from further expanding its scale.
This shift comes as tight global memory chip supplies drive up component costs. While competitors were forced to raise prices, Huawei and Apple capitalized on their premium pricing power to gain an edge.
Although Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo maintained their top-five global positions, they all faced varying degrees of decline. Xiaomi recorded the largest drop among the top five vendors due to a strategic reduction in shipments of older models.
Surging memory costs have put immense pressure on mid-to-low-end smartphone makers. IDC expects China's full-year smartphone shipments to face a decline of about 10% in 2026.
Facing the challenges of industry adjustments and stubbornly high costs, steady operations have become the core focus for vendors. They are pinning their hopes on AI and foldable screen innovations to sustain market demand through the winter, IDC noted.
