DigiTimes综述：IDC称Q3中国手机出货同比降15.4%，华为逆势双位数增长，苹果iPhone 18 Pro周销回暖但信息均已公开

China's smartphone market faces dual pressures as weakening consumer spending and rising component costs continue to weigh on the handset sector. According to third-quarter data from market research firm IDC, nationwide smartphone shipments dropped 15.4% year-over-year to 57.9 million units, underscoring broader macroeconomic headwinds across the country.

The downturn coincides with sluggish broader retail performance in China. Figures published by China's National Bureau of Statistics show that year-over-year retail sales grew by just 0.4% in August, missing economist forecasts of 0.8% and slowing from earlier in the summer. While this represents a modest bounce-back from May's 0.6% contraction, domestic consumption remains virtually flat.
Rising component costs force price hikes
Adding to soft consumer demand, phone manufacturers across the industry are grappling with severe cost pressures. Surging demand for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure has drained supply for high-bandwidth memory (HBM) and standard DRAM chips, triggering a global memory shortage.
"Vendors have been passing higher costs on to consumers, pushing up retail prices even as shipments shrink," said Arthur Guo, a senior analyst at IDC.
These price surges have triggered steep shipment declines among major Chinese domestic brands during the third quarter. According to IDC, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi saw shipment declines of 17.6%, 24.9%, and 20.4%, respectively. Both IDC and Counterpoint Research predict that high chip costs will drag global smartphone shipments down by double digits for the full year 2026.
According to Reuters, Huawei stood out as the sole major domestic vendor to post double-digit growth in the third quarter, shipping 12.2 million units to capture a 21% share. Analysts attribute Huawei's resilience to its diverse product lineup, competitive pricing, and dominance in the premium foldable segment, where it commands over 70% of China's market share in 2026, as Reuters cites Huawei Terminal BG CTO Li Xiaolong.
Apple positioned for potential sales lift
Despite a 4.3% shipment decline in the third quarter that landed Apple in second place with a 17.8% market share, the Cupertino tech giant is seeing strong signs of a potential sales rebound going into the fourth quarter.
Following the launch of its iPhone 18 Pro series, Apple reclaimed the No. 1 spot in China's weekly smartphone sales for mid-September, capturing 33% of the total market. According to Counterpoint Research, sales of the new Pro models during their first three days were 12% higher than the entire first-week sales of the previous generation.
Several market dynamics could work in Apple's favor to lift its sales trajectory through the end of the year. First, price increases of more than US$200 on numerous Chinese flagship smartphones driven by component inflation have raised the price ceiling in the premium segment, enhancing Apple's relative value proposition, according to South China Morning Post. In addition, delays in the release of the base iPhone 18 model might have pushed a higher proportion of Chinese consumers to trade up directly to the higher-margin Pro series.
The upcoming launch of Apple's first foldable device, the iPhone Duo, on October 23 could further unlock demand.
Apple's strong initial reception in the premium tier suggests that high-end consumer demand could offer a bright spot in an otherwise muted market.