On June 12, 2025, at the Huawei Global Flagship Store on Nanjing Road in Huangpu District, Shanghai, Huawei's newly released photography flagship phone Pura 80 attracted customers for experience. IC Photo

In the second quarter of 2025, the Chinese smartphone market showed a mild recovery amid a complex and changing economic environment. According to preliminary data from Counterpoint Research's latest "China Smartphone Weekly Sales Tracking" report, Huawei and Apple became the main growth drivers for this quarter. It is expected that Huawei will become the brand with the highest growth among all major brands in China and return to the top position in the Chinese market this quarter, while Apple achieved high single-digit year-on-year growth thanks to the iPhone 16 series and continued to be in the first tier of the premium market.

Apple Maintains Leading Position in Premium Market After Price Adjustments to Win Sales Top in 618

Currently, the Chinese smartphone market is entering a new stage characterized by stock competition and technological iteration. Affected by multiple factors such as slow recovery of consumer confidence, extended product innovation cycles, and macroeconomic fluctuations, the overall market has been under pressure for several years. Despite this, leading manufacturers are gradually activating users' demand for upgrades through brand strategies, product technology upgrades, and price adjustments.

In this context, Huawei's strong rebound has drawn significant attention. Since returning to the 5G smartphone market, Huawei has continuously launched new Mate and Pura series models, building a differentiated competitive advantage with self-developed chips and the HarmonyOS ecosystem. In this quarter, Huawei experienced a sales peak in May, which was quickly driven by the government's smartphone subsidy policy and its own promotional activities, triggering a rapid wave of user upgrades.

Ivan Lam, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint, stated, "Huawei is still enjoying the high loyalty of its core user base, who are purchasing new Huawei products to replace their old ones." Huawei's performance not only reflects strong brand cohesion but also indicates that it is gradually regaining market share lost due to supply chain constraints in the past.

At the same time, Apple continues to steadily advance in the premium market. The iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max models performed outstandingly in this quarter, especially receiving positive feedback during the price adjustment initiated in mid-May. Ethan Qi, Deputy Director of Research at Counterpoint, said, "The timing of Apple's iPhone price adjustment in May was very appropriate, and the response was good, just one week before the 618 promotion." This strategy enabled Apple to take the top sales position during the 618 promotion, with three iPhone models entering the top of the bestseller list, continuing its strong position in the premium market.

Competition Has Shifted from "Price War" to a Comprehensive Battle of "User Value" and "Ecosystem Capabilities"

Although Huawei and Apple have shown impressive performances, from the overall market perspective, consumer confidence remains slowly recovering. Data shows that the total sales during the actual 618 promotion period were roughly the same as last year, indicating that despite policy and promotional stimuli, spending during the holiday period remained low. Mengmeng Zhang, Senior Analyst at Counterpoint, pointed out, "The sales performance of the second quarter was partly driven by the national smartphone subsidy policy, but this policy may gradually decrease in the second half of the year, bringing some uncertainty to market growth, especially considering the overall lackluster performance of recent sales seasons."

Some analysts believe that Huawei's strong comeback is reshaping the landscape of the Chinese smartphone market. Its return to the top of the market is not just about a recovery in sales, but also represents a breakthrough of domestic brands in the premium market. Apple, on the other hand, has maintained its position in the highly competitive premium market with strong product power and precise control of timing. As the policy dividends gradually fade and technological innovation returns to the core competitiveness of products, the direction of the Chinese smartphone market in the second half of the year will remain uncertain. The focus of competition between manufacturers will shift from "price war" to a comprehensive battle of "user value" and "ecosystem capabilities."

Written by: Nandu · Wancaishe Reporter Cheng Yang

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524480019612041766/

Disclaimer: The article represents the views of the author and is welcome to express your opinion via the 【Like/Dislike】 buttons below.