Apple takes 5th place, Huawei races to top spot in China smartphone market in Q2: Canalys

Huawei Technologies reclaimed the top spot in China’s smartphone market in the second quarter of 2025, while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) came in fifth, according to data from Canalys.

Huawei took the first place with shipments of 12.2 million units, growing 15% year-over-year, capturing an 18% market share. Meanwhile, vivo followed with 11.8 million units shipped, taking 17% share. However, vivo saw a -10% decline year-over-year when it shipped 13.1 million units in the second quarter of 2024.

“Huawei launched the Nova 14 series, its first Nova lineup to feature HarmonyOS 5.0. This move is expected to accelerate the expansion of its independent ecosystem’s user base, while also placing greater demands on system compatibility and user experience,” said Lucas Zhong, analyst at Canalys, now part of Omdia.

The report added that vivo rolled out new models across its X200, S30, and Y300 series, using a staggered release strategy to target a wider range of customer segments.

Oppo (including OnePlus) secured the third place with 10.7 million units, and 16% share. Xiaomi saw its eighth consecutive quarter of annual growth and took the fourth spot with 10.4 million units.

Xiaomi introduced its in-house chipset XRing O1 in May, powering its flagship Xiaomi 15s Pro and Xiaomi Pad 7 Ultra, indicating a long-term commitment to in-house research and development, or R&D, and premium offerings, according to the report.

The U.S. tech giant was placed fifth with 10.1 million units, growing 4% year-over-year.

In the second quarter, Apple strategically adjusted its pricing for the new iPhone 16 series to drive demand during the shopping season. However, its early momentum was hampered by national subsidy eligibility issues due to its higher price points, the report noted.

The Mainland China smartphone market fell 4% year-over-year in the second quarter, as the boost from national subsidy programs earlier in the year began to taper off, the report added.

Amber Liu, practice leader at Canalys, said that Mainland China’s smartphone market is on track for modest full-year growth and is set to outperform the global market in 2025.

“In the second half, consumer sentiment is expected to continue recovering amid signs of economic resilience. Inventory levels remain healthy, as vendors took a cautious channel approach to avoid stockpiling during the subsidy wave. With much of the demand pulled forward in H1 by subsidies, vendors now face the challenge of maintaining upgrade momentum,” said Liu.