In March 2025, foreign-branded smartphone shipments in China experienced a massive decline, dropping 49.6% to 1.887 million units from 3.747 million in March 2024, according to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT).
As noted by Reuters, this marks one of the steepest declines in recent years for international tech brands, particularly Apple, which has been steadily losing ground to local competitors like Huawei and Xiaomi. Experts attribute the decline to a mix of policy shifts, competitive pricing by domestic players, and a growing national preference for homegrown technology.
Apple, once dominant in China’s premium smartphone segment, is now facing a multi-pronged challenge. Its market share has been eroding, with data from IDC showing a 9% year-on-year drop in shipments for Q1 2025. This is the seventh consecutive quarter of declining performance for the tech giant in China.
Analysts suggest Apple’s slower rollout of generative AI features—key to attracting younger, tech-forward consumers—has left it lagging behind local rivals. While Chinese brands like Huawei have swiftly integrated AI into their devices and operating systems, Apple plans to roll out these features no earlier than 2026.
Additionally, most of Apple’s flagship devices are priced above 6,000 yuan, which makes them ineligible for China’s consumer electronics subsidy program introduced earlier this year. This 15% government-backed refund for devices under the 6,000 yuan mark gives a significant edge to brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, and Vivo, which offer competitive specs at lower price points.
Huawei’s resurgence has been particularly noteworthy. After overcoming U.S. trade restrictions, the company has rebounded with a strong portfolio powered by its proprietary chips and HarmonyOS Next—an operating system that completely breaks from Android.
Huawei’s market share in China hit 16% by the end of 2024.
Xiaomi, meanwhile, continues to excel in the mid-range market, offering high-performance devices at budget-friendly prices. Combined, these domestic players now dominate China’s smartphone market, eroding the dominance foreign brands once enjoyed.
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