Updated
Updated · Informa PLC · Jul 14
Mainland China Smartphone Shipments Fall 2% to 66.1 Million as Huawei Extends 23% Lead
Updated
Updated · Informa PLC · Jul 14

Mainland China Smartphone Shipments Fall 2% to 66.1 Million as Huawei Extends 23% Lead

3 articles · Updated · Informa PLC · Jul 14

Summary

  • 66.1 million smartphones were shipped in mainland China in 2Q 2026, down 2% year over year, with the decline milder than the global market’s 4% drop.
  • Rising memory costs widened market polarization, and vendors with stronger premium portfolios held up better as consumers grew more cautious on upgrades.
  • Huawei shipped 15.2 million phones for a 23% share, while Apple delivered 12.4 million iPhones for 19%—its highest-ever second-quarter share in mainland China.
  • OPPO, including OnePlus and realme, ranked third with 10.6 million units and 16% share, followed by vivo at 10.5 million and Xiaomi at 8.2 million with 12%.
  • Omdia expects mainland China smartphone shipments to decline 6% in 2026, even as vendors keep investing in AI-native software and agentic smartphone capabilities.

Insights

With memory costs crushing Android, is China's smartphone market now just a two-horse race?
Can China's tech self-reliance strategy break the global memory crisis and save its smartphone industry?
As AI's memory demand kills the budget phone, who gets left behind in the digital world?