The demand for smartphones in China has dropped significantly, which resulted in Apple no longer being on the country’s top 4 best sellers’ list. This is a record low for the industry, with the shipment of units to the country being at its lowest point since 2013. It has also become clear that the nation’s four major manufacturers are now the ruling brands in China.
According to an analysis by the firm Canalys, shipment of smartphones to China dropped by 21 percent at 91 million units. Of the top 10 vendors in the country, 8 suffered disappointments in sales numbers, which included Apple.
It’s worse for some than it is for others, with Samsung seeing only about half its sales numbers in the country compared to the same period of Q1 2017. In contrast, local players Huawei and Xiaomi are seeing growth in sales.
“Huawei (including Honor) managed to grow shipments by a modest 2%, maintaining its lead and consolidating its market share to about 24% by shipping over 21 million smartphones. Second-placed Oppo and third-placed Vivo bore the brunt of the overall decline, with shipments falling by about 10% to 18 million and 15 million respectively. Xiaomi was the only company to buck the trend, growing shipments by 37% to 12 million units, and overtaking Apple to take fourth place,” the report reads.
According to one of the analysts of the firm, Mo Jia, one of the major reasons for the development include the challenges in actually marketing in a place as huge as China.
"The costs of marketing and channel management in a country as big as China are huge, and only vendors that have reached a certain size can cope," Jia said, adding, "While Huawei, Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi must contend with a shrinking market, they can take comfort from the fact that it will continue to consolidate.”
As CNBC notes, however, the rise of Huawei and Xiaomi are not surprising and has actually been expected for some time. The return to growth in sales is also expected to occur during Q2 of this year.


Mega IPOs Like SpaceX and OpenAI Could Reshape S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 Portfolios in 2026
Marvell Stock Rises After Record Q1 FY2027 Earnings Fueled by AI Demand
SpaceX IPO Could Become Largest in History with $1.8 Trillion Valuation Target
SpaceX IPO Hype Raises Questions as Many Major Stock Debuts Underperform Market
Macquarie Names Five Taiwan AI Stocks Set to Benefit From Data Center Growth in 2026
Lam Research Expands AI-Powered Semiconductor Tools and Arizona Operations
Meta Subscription Push Could Add Billions in Recurring Revenue, Says Rosenblatt
Synopsys Q2 FY2026 Earnings Beat Driven by AI and Semiconductor Demand
US Quantum Stocks Surge After $2 Billion Government Investment
MongoDB Q1 FY2027 Earnings Beat Expectations, Raises Full-Year Outlook
Blue Origin New Glenn Rocket Explodes During Launch Pad Test, Delaying Space Ambitions
Kentucky School District Secures $27 Million in Social Media Addiction Lawsuit Settlements
Autodesk Beats Q1 Estimates, Acquires MaintainX for $3.6 Billion
Dell Raises 2027 Revenue Forecast as AI Server Demand Drives Record Quarterly Results
PDG Explores $1 Billion Sale of China Data Center Assets
Xiaomi Shares Drop After Weak Q1 Earnings Amid Rising Smartphone Costs 



