Apple bucks the trend in China with iPhone
Apple and Huawei were the only smartphone vendors to see any growth in China while the industry overall declined, said IDC. Shipments shrank 4.3% across the industry while Apple returned near 25% (24.4%) growth. Huawei grew 19.4%.
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The data sits in the foreground of a background of component price concerns with rising prices driving smartphone makers to raise prices in turn, which is cooling demand.
Huawei and Apple both held steady on price while all the other Android makers increased them. Huawei kept widening its lineup to cover more of the market, while Apple’s early signalling of price increases on its second-half products pulled some buyers forward into the iPhone 17 series sooner than they might have bought otherwise.
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Tellingly, the report tells us: The top six vendors now hold about 96% of the market, which keeps squeezing smaller and mid-sized brands and pushes concentration higher.
Looking ahead to next year, the analysts anticipate continued headwinds, but shared some optimism that the market will recover.
“The smartphone remains the one device almost everyone carries and relies on daily, so its core position holds,” they said. “A recovery looks likely around 2028–2029 as a fresh replacement cycle comes due.”
It is interesting the extent to which Apple continues to buck industry trend. Just last week we saw Apple surging in PC shipments while competitors foundered on similar component driven problems.
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