The tale of a clear Q4 winner and a very close full-year silver medalist
It's no secret that the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max are big in China (as they are in so many other countries around the world), but until today, you probably didn't realize just how much more popular the three September 2025-released devices instantly proved compared to 2024's iPhone 16 lineup.
That's quite an impressive win in such a closely contested market.
The iPhone 17 trio made such a huge splash in the world's second most populous nation that Apple's Q4 market share jumped from 13.2 percent in 2024 to 16 percent in 2025 on the back of a massive 21.5 percent year-on-year improvement in regional sales. We're talking nearly three million more iPhone units shipped in China at the end of last year than the final three months of the previous year, which was obviously enough to consolidate the company's supremacy over all other vendors.
Apple, mind you, was ranked first in China at the end of 2024 as well, but back then, its lead was... pretty much non-existent, as Vivo sold the exact same number of phones as the Cupertino-based tech giant, and Huawei was a very close third-place finisher.
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Said lead is up to no less than four million unit shipments and four percentage points in market share as of Q4 2025, which however wasn't enough to propel Apple to the number one spot in the vendor hierarchy for the entire year. But Huawei's advantage there looks pretty easy to annihilate in 2026, especially if the regional champ continues to lose customers and the silver medalist keeps growing (even at a smaller pace than last year).
What smartphone vendor are you rooting for?
Apple
25%
Huawei
0%
Vivo
25%
Xiaomi
25%
Oppo
25%
Someone else
0%
In case you're wondering, no, Apple was not China's number two smartphone vendor in 2024, and in fact, Huawei was not number one either, which reminds us all how much more volatile and, well, interesting this market is compared to the global market.
So who will win the 2026 battle?
If I had to take a guess right now, I'd say that Apple has a very good chance to follow in Huawei's footsteps from 2025 and Vivo's from 2024 to dominate not only the Q4 sales chart, but 2026's full-year vendor competition as well.
That's because the iPhone 17 family is still very popular (in China and other places), and the iPhone 18 lineup and first-gen iPhone Fold expected to come out in the fall of 2026 look mighty promising based on the latest rumors and speculation.
Those are some incredibly small gaps between the market's top five vendors.
Apple's growth prospects are made even better by Huawei and Vivo's sales declines in 2025, although it is important to point out that Xiaomi actually posted a bigger increase in its Chinese shipments last year than the iPhone makers. Given how small the gaps are between the country's top five vendors, literally any one of them (including Xiaomi and Oppo) could win the trophy at the end of this year with just a little growth... and a little decline from everyone else.
Speaking of little declines, China's smartphone market contracted in 2025 by 0.6 percent compared to 2024 (and by 0.8 percent in Q4), which obviously means sales had to go up in other regions for global numbers to stay (relatively) healthy.
Don't forget about the iPhone 17e!
While the iPhone 16e is curiously not mentioned in the IDC's newest report as a key growth driver for Apple in China in 2025, I believe the iPhone 17e could play a pivotal role in securing the company the final 2026 victory over Huawei, Vivo, Xiaomi, and Oppo.
That's because this is still a very budget-focused market, and although I obviously don't expect the iPhone 17e to be the cheapest new handset in the world this year, its price will certainly be lower than those of the iPhone 17, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Max.
With the same A19 chip under the hood as the "vanilla" iPhone 17 and a sleeker and more modern design than its predecessor, the 17e could strike gold at the Chinese box-office and prove impossible to beat in terms of its bang for your buck (or yuan) for the four aforementioned local manufacturers.
Adrian, a mobile technology enthusiast since the Nokia 3310 era, has been a dynamic presence in the tech journalism field, contributing to Android Authority, Digital Trends, and Pocketnow before joining PhoneArena in 2018. His expertise spans across various platforms, with a particular fondness for the diversity of the Android ecosystem. Despite the challenges of balancing full-time parenthood with his work, Adrian's passion for tech trends, running, and movies keeps him energized. His commitment to mid-range smartphones has led to an eclectic collection of devices, saved from personal bankruptcy by his preference for 'adequate' over 'overpriced'.
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