Shipments of foreign-branded smartphones to China, a category dominated by Apple, rose 1.8% year-on-year to 3.59 million phones in April, according to estimates by Reuters, a government-run research body that tracks domestic handset shipments, based on figures published by the Chinese Academy of Information and Communications Technology.
The number is a meaningful slowdown. Shipments of foreign brands to China grew at a faster pace during the first quarter, with a single reading of CAICT data showing that the figure was nearly 52% for the period, and Counterpoint Research specifically noted shipments of 13.1 million iPhones in the first quarter. April’s 1.8% increase is therefore the first month since late 2025 that the foreign brand category has been near flat.
CAICT data does not disaggregate individual vendors. Apple is by some distance the largest foreign brand in the Chinese smartphone market, and foreign brands are read by analysts as a useful, if imperfect, proxy for iPhone shipments. Samsung, Sony and a few niche brands together make up the rest of the foreign brands.
The broader Chinese smartphone market is no longer growing. In the first quarter, total shipments decreased by 3.3% to approximately 69 million units. According to IDCHuawei took first place for the first time in five years, and Apple took second place.
Together, the two firms drove much of the small premium segment growth in the quarter, with Huawei’s Mate 80 series and foldable Pura X performing strongly. Apple’s iPhone 17 line. Xiaomi’s shipments fell by 35% in the same period.
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There are several plausible reasons for April’s slowdown for foreign brands. Counterpoint and other observers have pointed to Apple’s relative price advantage as memory chip prices have risen, with iPhones avoiding the sweeping price hikes that hit Xiaomi and Oppo.
This price advantage concentrated demand in previous quarters as buyers moved forward with purchases. April also marks the beginning of the seasonal lull before the iPhone refresh in September, during which year-to-year comparisons tend to be compressed regardless of underlying demand.
China’s total mobile phone market shipped 21.15 million units in March, down 7.1% year-on-year but up 26% month-on-month. April’s 3.59 million foreign brand units indicate that the stock split is broadly stable.
The slowdown comes at a particularly awkward time for Apple. The company has spent the past two years trying to stabilize its China business after a sharp contraction in 2024, and the first quarter of 2026 was read in both IDC and Counterpoint reports as evidence that the recovery is real.
The next two CAICT releases will answer the question of whether April was a lone weak month or the start of a flatter trend. The May and June numbers will show whether the Q1 increase represents a one-time advance or a structural rebound, in late June and late July, respectively.
In November 2025, shipments of foreign brands more than doubled year-over-year by the same CAICT measure, with an unusually strong base effect set to continue to suppress year-over-year comparisons through the rest of 2026.
