iPhone tops China market after shipments soar

Apple Inc. retook the top spot in China after iPhone shipments jumped 28% during the holiday quarter despite a worsening shortage of vital memory chips, according to Counterpoint Research.

The iPhone 17 generation of devices drew consumers, with Apple’s handsets accounting for one in every five shipments in the December quarter, the research firm estimated. That growth came at the expense of Huawei Technologies Co. and Xiaomi Corp., both of which experienced double-digit percentage declines. Overall, shipments in the world’s largest smartphone arena fell 1.6%.

From Micron Technology Inc. to Xiaomi, a growing number of companies are warning about the uncertain impact from a growing deficit of the semiconductors used to store data on devices. That shortage, which arose after memory chip makers devoted more of their capacity to high-end memory for Nvidia Corp. AI chips, is driving prices higher while squeezing smaller players unable to secure longer-term supply.


“Looking ahead, memory prices are expected to rise further, increasing by 40%–50% in Q1 2026, followed by an additional increase of around 20% in Q2 2026,” Counterpoint analysts wrote. “Smartphone OEMs are expected to optimize their product portfolios, with a particular focus on scaling back low-end models to preserve margins.”

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei highlighted the uneven impact of the memory crunch last week, saying high-end smartphones remained largely unaffected. Apple, whose entire lineup resides in the upper tiers of the market, is showing greatest resilience. Still, a new round of Chinese consumer subsidies is helping alleviate cost pressures on manufacturers, Counterpoint said.

For the calendar year, Apple came in only a sliver behind Huawei at the top of China’s shipments ranking, with each taking roughly a 17% market share. The iPhone maker’s 2025 shipments climbed 7.5%. One blemish on its record was the novel iPhone Air, which launched later in China than elsewhere and wasn’t a hot seller.

“The iPhone Air underperformed,” Counterpoint analyst Ivan Lam said. “The late launch and trade-offs between thinness and the feature set resulted in a slow start.”