Updated
Updated · 9to5Mac · Jul 7
Apple Climbs to No. 2 in China 618 With 18% Share After CNY 2,000 iPhone Cuts
Updated
Updated · 9to5Mac · Jul 7

Apple Climbs to No. 2 in China 618 With 18% Share After CNY 2,000 iPhone Cuts

3 articles · Updated · 9to5Mac · Jul 7

Summary

  • Apple took second place in China’s 618 smartphone market with an 18% share after offering up to CNY 2,000 off the iPhone 17 Pro series through discounts, platform promotions and trade-in incentives.
  • Counterpoint said those cuts lifted Apple’s sales sequentially, but its 618 sales still fell 9% year over year because last year’s period featured even more aggressive promotions for the iPhone 16 lineup.
  • Huawei led the May 25-June 21 market with a 21% share and was the only major brand to grow, with sales up 19%; OPPO matched Apple at 18%, followed by vivo at 17%, Xiaomi at 14% and HONOR at 10%.
  • China’s overall 618 smartphone sales dropped 13% from a year earlier as rising memory costs pushed up prices, limited discounting across brands and further weakened already soft consumer demand.

Insights

With rising costs, is Huawei's domestic innovation now more compelling than Apple's brand?
Is China sacrificing consumer spending to win the global technology race?
As AI drives up phone costs, will it also threaten the jobs needed to buy them?