China Smartphone Shipments Hit 14-Year Low as Apple Swings to No. 2

China's smartphone market posted its smallest quarterly shipment volume in 14 years during the third quarter of 2026, with Counterpoint Research reporting shipments down 10% from a year earlier. The research firm attributed the contraction to higher memory prices across the industry.

Huawei led the quarter with a 21.3% shipment share, up 5.3 percentage points year over year. Apple followed at 19.5%, a gain of 4.8 points, moving the company from sixth place to second. Vivo slipped 2.8 points to 15.2%, OPPO fell 1.3 points to 15.1%, Xiaomi dropped 1.6 points to 13.5%, and HONOR declined 2.2 points to 12.7%. Other manufacturers combined ended the quarter at 2.8%, down 2 points.

Among the six leading brands, Huawei and Apple were the only ones to gain share. Counterpoint credited the iPhone 18 Pro series for part of Apple's advance, noting sales in the first three weeks rose 23.5% from the iPhone 17 Pro series over the same period. The firm also suggested the delayed release of the base iPhone 18 steered some buyers toward the Pro models in the early weeks.

A separate IDC report published days earlier put the third-quarter shipment decline at 15.4% and estimated Apple's share at 17.8%, with iPhone shipments down 4.3%. IDC also estimated worldwide smartphone shipments fell 22% year over year in the quarter, the largest such decline on record, with Apple posting a 4% drop among the top five manufacturers.

Counterpoint said higher smartphone prices are leading consumers to postpone upgrades, wait for promotions or buy refurbished devices, and that this behavior could weigh on demand in the fourth quarter.