Apple iPhone Sales Jump 23% in China as Market Declines

Apple is seeing strong iPhone sales in China even as the broader smartphone market declines. According to new data from Counterpoint Research, Apple saw a 23 percent jump in sales during the first nine weeks of 2026.



That growth came as overall smartphone sales in the country fell 4 percent year over year in January and February. Even the usually busy Lunar New Year shopping season disappointed. Despite the introduction of government subsidies at the start of the year, overall sales fell 2 percent year over year during the holiday period compared to last year.


Apple outperformed the broader market thanks to heavy e-commerce discounts, combined with those government subsidies applying directly to the base iPhone 17. The strong start builds on a solid finish to last year, when the iPhone 17 lineup pushed Apple back to the top of the market.

Behind the scenes, rising hardware costs are putting pressure on the entire industry. Memory prices are rising quickly, putting pressure on margins across the industry. Chinese vendors like OPPO and vivo have already announced price increases for some existing models starting in March. The move is also a way to test how consumers react to higher prices ahead of their next wave of launches. If demand weakens, they can adjust quickly.

Apple is unlikely to follow suit and instead absorb higher component costs rather than pass them on to buyers. This tracks with earlier reports suggesting Apple intends to hold iPhone pricing steady through the year. Keeping prices flat while Android competitors get more expensive gives Apple a clear opening to grab more market share.

Huawei is also well positioned to expand its market share. It relies heavily on domestic memory suppliers, which charge less than international providers. That cost buffer should let Huawei aggressively target the low-end and mid-range market. For everyone else, high memory costs are expected to drag on throughout 2026, making it tough for brands that rely on cheap entry-level phones to hit their shipment numbers.