Report: Apple gains ground in China as smartphone shipments hit 14-year low in Q3

Rising memory prices continue to weigh on the global smartphone market, with shipments in China alone falling 10% year over year in Q3. Here are the details.

Apple gains ground despite market downturn

A few days ago, IDC reported that smartphone shipments in China fell 15.4% year over year in Q3 2026, with Apple increasing its share of that total to 17.8% despite a 4.3% decline in iPhone shipments.

The report echoed the broader global trend, with IDC estimating that worldwide smartphone shipments fell a record 22% year over year during the quarter, while Apple recorded the smallest decline among the top five manufacturers, at just 4%.

Now, a new report from Counterpoint Research paints a similar picture of China’s smartphone market in Q3, although its estimates differ somewhat from IDC’s.

According to the report, smartphone shipments in China hit a 14-year low during Q3 2026, with a 10% decline year over year.

Apple, on the other hand, accounted for 19.5% of smartphone shipments in China during the period, a 4.8-percentage-point increase year over year. The company was second only to Huawei, which held a 21.3% share, up 5.3 percentage points from a year earlier.

In fact, these were the only two among the top six brands to gain shipment share year over year, with vivo down 2.8 percentage points to 15.2%, OPPO down 1.3 points to 15.1%, Xiaomi down 1.6 points to 13.5%, HONOR down 2.2 points to 12.7%, and other manufacturers collectively down 2 points to 2.8%.

Notably, Apple went from sixth to second place in overall shipments, which Counterpoint attributes in part to the strong launch of the iPhone 18 Pro series:

Apple ranked second with a 19.5% market share in Q3. The iPhone 18 Pro series saw a strong launch in China, with sales in the first three weeks up 23.5% YoY compared with the iPhone 17 Pro series. The delayed launch of the base iPhone 18 may have encouraged some consumers to trade up to the Pro models, supporting their early sales momentum.

Looking ahead, Counterpoint noted that rising smartphone prices are leading consumers to delay upgrades, wait for promotional periods, or turn to refurbished devices, potentially putting further pressure on demand in Q4.

To check out Counterpoint Research’s full report, follow this link.

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