The latest data released by research firm Counterpoint on Thursday showed that Apple's sales in the Chinese smartphone market in the first nine weeks of this year surged 23% year-on-year, achieving growth against the backdrop of overall market decline. During the same period, China's total smartphone shipments fell by 4% year-on-year. The government subsidy policy launched at the beginning of the year had limited boost to weak consumer demand.
The report pointed out that Apple’s growth in the Chinese market is mainly due to substantial promotions on e-commerce platforms and the inclusion of the basic iPhone 17 model in the scope of government subsidies, making it more attractive in price. Due to its strong control over the supply chain, Apple is better able to absorb cost pressures than its competitors in the current environment of soaring memory chip costs. It is expected to maintain its established pricing strategy and will not follow its competitors in raising prices to take the opportunity to expand market share.
In contrast, under the pressure of rising memory chip prices, Chinese Android mobile phone manufacturers OPPO and vivo have announced that they will increase the prices of some existing models starting this month. This move is also seen as testing consumers' acceptance of price increases before the release of new phones and providing a basis for pricing next-generation products. Counterpoint believes that this tentative price increase strategy reflects the increasing difficulty of the Android camp in balancing rising costs, profit margins, and shipment targets.
Huawei, another Chinese mobile phone giant, may have a cost advantage thanks to its heavy reliance on local suppliers. The report said that local memory chip manufacturers' quotations are usually lower than those of international suppliers, which provides Huawei with a certain buffer in storage costs. The company is expected to use this advantage to accelerate its share in the mid-to-low-end market.
Looking forward, Counterpoint predicts that China's smartphone market will remain under pressure from March to May. It will not be until the traditional mid-year "618" shopping festival in early June brings a wave of promotions that market demand is expected to receive a phased boost. However, from a global perspective, this round of memory chip price increases driven by the "AI craze" is expected to continue throughout 2026. Mobile phone manufacturers will face increasingly difficult trade-offs between controlling costs, ensuring profit margins, and completing full-year shipment targets.