Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) smartphone sales in China dropped 6% year-over-year in the weeks leading up to the iPhone 17 launch, a sharper decline than usual ahead of a new product debut, according to Counterpoint Research.
The U.S. tech giant wasn’t alone in facing a sluggish summer. Rival smartphone makers Xiaomi (OTCPK:XIACF) (OTCPK:XIACY), Vivo, and Honor Device also saw sales decline during the first eight weeks of the third quarter.
The decline coincides with a 2% year-over-year drop in China’s smartphone sell-through during the early part of Q3, despite government subsidies aimed at boosting consumption.
Huawei’s continued portfolio expansion has meanwhile helped growth stay positive.
Counterpoint expects slightly negative growth for China’s smartphone market in the entire Q3 and flat growth for the full year of 2025.
According to some Seeking Alpha analysts, Apple failed to deliver meaningful innovation at its latest iPhone 17 launch, with only incremental updates and no catalyst for mass upgrades.
Turning to Greater China—Apple’s second-largest national market and third-largest regional market, which includes mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau—the company continues to face mounting pressure.
Focusing specifically on China’s smartphone market, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has been the second biggest loser in market share and has seen the biggest degrowth of the top 5 competitors, which make up nearly 80% of China’s market. The biggest gainer has been, obviously, Xiaomi, one SA author writes.