China’s smartphone market remained under pressure during the second quarter of 2026 as shipments declined 4.3 percent year over year to approximately 66 million units, marking the fifth consecutive quarter of decline, according to IDC.
Rising memory and component costs, weakening government subsidy support, and cautious consumer spending weighed heavily on smartphone demand in China. Huawei and Apple emerged as the biggest winners by maintaining stable pricing and expanding market share, Kiranjeet Kaur – Associate Research Director – IDC, said in a report.
China Smartphone Shipments Continue to Decline
China’s smartphone shipments reached around 66 million units in Q2 2026, down 4.3 percent from the same period last year. During the first half of 2026, smartphone shipments totaled approximately 134 million units, representing a 4.2 percent year-over-year decline.
The slowdown in China’s smartphone market reflected pressure from rising memory and semiconductor component costs that began increasing from late March. Most Android smartphone vendors responded by raising retail prices or reducing hardware configurations, reducing consumers’ willingness to upgrade their devices.
The fading impact of government subsidy programs weakened market demand, while smartphone sales during China’s major “618” shopping festival dropped by nearly 15 percent year over year, highlighting weaker consumer sentiment.
Huawei and Apple Outperform the Market
Huawei strengthened its leadership in China’s smartphone market by increasing its market share to 22.6 percent in Q2 2026 from 18.1 percent a year earlier. Huawei achieved 19.4 percent year-over-year shipment growth, benefiting from broader product coverage, stable pricing, and targeted promotional campaigns.
Apple delivered the strongest growth among major smartphone brands. Apple’s market share rose to 18.1 percent from 13.9 percent last year, while shipments increased 24.4 percent year over year. IDC attributed Apple’s strong performance to stable pricing, aggressive promotions, strong brand loyalty, and customers accelerating purchases ahead of anticipated price increases for second-half iPhone models, including the iPhone 17 series.
IDC noted that Huawei and Apple each recorded approximately 20 percent year-over-year shipment growth, significantly outperforming the overall market.
Android Vendors Lose Momentum
Most Android smartphone vendors experienced declining shipments during the quarter as higher component costs translated into higher retail prices.
OPPO held a 16.0 percent market share compared with 17.3 percent last year, with shipments falling 9.7 percent.
vivo also captured 16.0 percent market share, down from 17.0 percent, while shipments declined 11.4 percent.
Xiaomi saw its market share decrease to 12.4 percent from 15.1 percent, with shipments dropping 21.7 percent.
Honor recorded 11.3 percent market share compared with 11.9 percent last year, declining 9.5 percent.
Among smaller brands:
Wiko declined 49.2 percent, with market share falling from 2.1 percent to 1.1 percent.
Lenovo dropped 10.4 percent, maintaining 0.3 percent market share.
ZTE fell 33.5 percent, retaining 0.3 percent market share.
Samsung posted the sharpest decline among global vendors, with shipments falling 60.8 percent as market share declined from 0.4 percent to 0.1 percent.
Other brands collectively represented 1.8 percent of the market, down from 3.4 percent, with shipments declining 50.3 percent.
IDC also noted a statistical tie between OPPO and vivo, as shipment share differences of 0.1 percentage points or less are treated as ties.
Market Concentration Continues to Increase
China’s smartphone market continues to consolidate around the largest brands. The top six smartphone vendors now account for approximately 96 percent of the market, leaving limited room for smaller and mid-sized smartphone manufacturers to compete.
According to IDC, vivo’s figures include both vivo and iQOO, while OPPO includes OPPO, OnePlus, and realme.
IDC Outlook for China Smartphone Market
IDC expects market conditions to become more challenging during the second half of 2026. Smartphone vendors have so far benefited from earlier inventories of lower-cost components, but as those inventories are depleted, higher production costs are expected to put additional pressure on pricing and profitability.
IDC forecasts that the year-over-year decline in China’s smartphone market could widen to around 20 percent during the second half of 2026.
The research firm also expects storage pricing to remain elevated throughout 2027, delaying a broader market recovery. However, IDC believes consumers are postponing smartphone purchases rather than abandoning upgrades entirely, creating the potential for renewed replacement demand during 2028-2029.
Another long-term growth opportunity could emerge from AI agent smartphones, where hardware, operating systems, software ecosystems, and large language models are tightly integrated to deliver meaningful everyday AI experiences. IDC believes such devices could trigger the next major smartphone replacement cycle once the AI ecosystem matures.
BABURAJAN KIZHAKEDATH
