Apple wins big in China

The Singles' Day sales picture shows a highly fragmented Chinese smartphone market, with many big players failing to make a splash during the biggest shopping season of the year.

Apple's sales in China increased sharply. Photo: Bloomberg .

China’s Singles’ Day (Double Eleven) has ended for nearly three weeks, but the Chinese smartphone market has only now begun to take shape in terms of sales. Contrary to the “top” claims of many e-commerce companies, data from Counterpoint Research shows that the actual situation is somewhat surprising.

Specifically, Apple, OPPO and Vivo grew strongly, while Xiaomi, Huawei and Honor recorded a decrease compared to the same period.

The opposite number

Apple's sales reportedly increased by 37% during Singles' Day. This figure surprised even market watchers, as Apple has tightened its price controls this year, with deep discounts almost non-existent. The iPhone 17 still sold strongly as the number of pre-orders during the opening sale period and the "don't wait" mentality of users boosted this purchasing power.

In addition, the discount of only about 500 yuan ( US$70 ) on some e-commerce platforms is not big enough to create a boost, but the upgrade demand of long-time users has made up for that gap. In the context of Apple's annual sales not so positive, achieving significant growth without relying much on price incentives is a rare bright spot for the US technology giant.

Chinese shoppers no longer wait for Singles' Day to hunt for discounts. Photo: Bloomberg .

In contrast to Apple, Xiaomi and Huawei are two brands that have suffered a clear decline. For Xiaomi, the reason comes from the launch time. The Xiaomi 17 series hit shelves a month earlier than usual, causing most of the initial sales to fall in October, a period outside of Counterpoint 's statistical milestone.

Xiaomi said on October 2 that it had sold more than one million Xiaomi 17s, but that sales were not included in the survey data starting from October 20. The fact that the largest sales fell before the statistical period made the company's results underestimated.

In addition, Xiaomi has tightened its pricing strategy this year to build a premium image. This makes discount programs during the shopping season less attractive to the group of users who place a high importance on cost factors.

The rankings 'change hands'

Huawei had the sharpest decline among the brands surveyed. Data for the first three quarters of the year shows that its sales started to decline from Q3 2025, mainly due to the lack of new flagship models. Market demand for the Pura and Nova lines, which were important growth drivers last year, weakened after the two lines were launched early in Q2 2025.

While Xiaomi and Huawei slowed down, OPPO and Vivo emerged as the bright spots of the market. Both companies launched new flagships right before the promotion period. The Find X9 and Vivo X300 achieved significantly higher sales than the previous generation, contributing to the growth of the two brands on Singles' Day.

Huawei and Xiaomi both did not have good sales during the year-end shopping season. Photo: Bloomberg .

Competitive new product launches, coupled with improved online sales strategies, have helped OPPO and Vivo capitalize on market gaps as rivals adjust their product schedules.

From a market perspective, this year’s sales data reflects a shift in consumer sentiment. Shoppers no longer wait for Singles’ Day to hunt for deals like they used to. With so many discount programs popping up all year round, discounts of a few hundred yuan are no longer enough to stimulate purchasing power.

According to Lei Technology, the competition in the phone market has shifted from fixed sales milestones to a continuous race from September to November. Next year, when many companies plan to push up their flagship launch schedules, the market may witness more profound changes, directly affecting sales during major promotional seasons.

Source: https://znews.vn/apple-thang-lon-tai-trung-quoc-post1607550.html