Foreign Smartphone Brands Skyrocket 128% in China: Apple Stages Epic Comeback
Foreign smartphone shipments in China exploded by 128.4% year-over-year in November, signaling a stunning reversal in a market long ruled by homegrown giants. Data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, released Thursday, shows foreign brands shipped 6.93 million units, grabbing about 23% of the market as total mobile phone volumes edged up 1.9% to 30.16 million units.
The boom is fueled primarily by explosive demand for Apple's iPhone 17 lineup, unveiled in September and quickly winning back Chinese buyers after prolonged share erosion to rivals like Huawei, Vivo, Xiaomi, and OPPO. According to Counterpoint Research's October figures, Apple's China market share hit 25%—its strongest since 2022. This contrasts sharply with last November's 47.4% plunge to just 3.04 million units for foreign brands.
"Insane demand for the iPhone 17 has turbocharged Apple's momentum," noted Nabila Popal, senior research director at IDC. The firm predicts Apple will ship a record 247.4 million iPhones worldwide in 2025, eclipsing the 236 million from 2021.
China's smartphone arena remains a brutal battleground, with leadership flipping quarterly among top vendors. In Q3, Vivo topped with 11.8 million units and 18% share, trailed by Huawei at 10.5 million and Apple at 10.1 million. Experts say the market has settled into normal rhythms post early-year government subsidies that spiked demand artificially.
IDC forecasts a 17% Q4 shipment surge, flipping a prior 1% annual decline into 3% growth. Apple's iPhone 17 buzz should sustain records into December, but domestic players are countering with aggressive innovations in this high-stakes tech coliseum.
