iPhone 17 Pricing Helped Apple Buck China's Q2 Smartphone Decline

Apple grew iPhone shipments successful China by 24.4 percent twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth successful the 2nd 4th of 2026, making it the fastest-growing smartphone marque successful a marketplace that shrank overall, according to preliminary figures released contiguous by research steadfast IDC.


Total shipments successful China fell 4.3 percent to astir 66 cardinal units, amounting to a 5th consecutive 4th of decline. Apple and Huawei were the lone large vendors to grow, with Huawei up 19.4 percent.

Apple's stock of the Chinese marketplace roseate from 13.9 percent to 18.1 percent twelvemonth implicit year, which was 2nd lone to Huawei's 22.6 percent. Meanwhile, Xiaomi suffered the steepest autumn among the large brands, with shipments down 21.7 percent.

IDC attributes the marketplace divergence mostly to the mode vendors reacted to rising representation and constituent costs amid the AI infrastructure buildout. Most Android vendors raised prices from precocious March, but Apple and Huawei held theirs steady, alternatively introducing targeted promotions.

On apical of this, Huawei kept widening its lineup to screen much of the market, portion Apple's aboriginal warnings of upcoming terms increases successful the 2nd fractional of the twelvemonth encouraged immoderate buyers to acquisition iPhone 17 bid models sooner than they mightiness person otherwise. "That gave hesitant buyers a crushed to spell up and purchase," said IDC expert Arthur Guo.

The maturation came contempt a anemic June market, arsenic smartphone income during China's "618" buying festival fell astir 15 percent compared to the aforesaid play successful 2025.


IDC says it expects conditions to deteriorate implicit the adjacent mates of years. As vendors tally down cheaper constituent inventory, the steadfast forecasts China's year-over-year diminution could widen to astir 20 percent successful the 2nd fractional of 2026, close astir erstwhile Apple is expected to motorboat its caller iPhone 18 Pro models and archetypal foldable iPhone. Storage prices are improbable to easiness meaningfully earlier 2027, and a broader betterment is not expected until 2028 oregon 2029, reckons IDC.

On the agleam side, the probe steadfast believes customers are postponing upgrades alternatively than walking distant from smartphones, truthful the delayed request should instrumentality successful time. On that basis, a betterment could get astir 2028–2029 arsenic a caller replacement rhythm comes due.
This article, "iPhone 17 Pricing Helped Apple Buck China's Q2 Smartphone Decline" archetypal appeared connected MacRumors.com

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