China's Smartphone Market Share in Week 8 of 2025: Huawei's Strong Comeback Challenges Apple's Position

China's Smartphone Market Share in Week 8 of 2025: Huawei's Strong Comeback Challenges Apple's PositionData shows an approximately 18% year-on-year decline in overall market sales for Week 8 of 2025, marking a new low for the year. This is primarily attributed to two factors: decreased consumer purchasing power, which even government subsidies couldn't fully stimulate; and a concentrated release of new phones from numerous manufacturers, with major sales expected only after April

China's Smartphone Market Share in Week 8 of 2025: Huawei's Strong Comeback Challenges Apple's Position

The Chinese smartphone market witnessed fierce competition from early 2024 to early 2025, with major manufacturers focusing on system-level innovations to overcome the bottleneck of hardware stacking. This trend was evident in OPPO's ultra-clear imaging algorithm, Xiaomi's Surge OS imaging architecture, and Honor's stacked battery technology. Recently released market share data for Week 8 of 2025 (February 17-23) clearly reveals the shifting market landscape resulting from this intense competition, and foreshadows profound changes within China's consumer electronics industry.

Data shows an approximately 18% year-on-year decline in overall market sales for Week 8 of 2025, marking a new low for the year. This is primarily attributed to two factors: decreased consumer purchasing power, which even government subsidies couldn't fully stimulate; and a concentrated release of new phones from numerous manufacturers, with major sales expected only after April. This resulted in stagnant market growth, significantly lagging behind the same period in 2024.

Huawei's strong comeback is particularly noteworthy. Holding a 16.13% market share in 2024, placing it second, Huawei's weekly share surged to 17.1% in February 2025. This significant improvement signifies Huawei's successful overcoming of the chip shortage. Leveraging its self-developed Kirin chips and the synergy of its HarmonyOS ecosystem, Huawei has successfully reclaimed ground in the high-end market. The Mate60 series' satellite communication capabilities, the P70 series' imaging breakthroughs, and the Mate70 series' Kirin 9020 processor directly compete with Apple's Pro series, showcasing Huawei's robust technological prowess. Furthermore, Huawei's "Smart Selection" program, while a smaller segment, contributes significantly to Huawei's growth by consistently attracting high-net-worth users.

In contrast to Huawei's resurgence, Apple's market share declined. iPhone dropped to fourth place, with Apple's share falling from 15.10% in 2024 to 14.6% in early 2025. The iPhone 16 series' incremental upgrades failed to captivate Chinese consumers, while domestic innovations like Huawei's satellite communication and vivo's AI noise cancellation features continuously eroded Apple's technological advantage. Despite Apple's strong ecosystem, many consumers remain loyal to the iPhone's smooth performance, but the persistent pressure from domestic manufacturers has created a delicate situation for Apple in the Chinese market, possibly explaining Apple's plans for significant changes in the upcoming iPhone 17 series.

vivo demonstrated a steady and pragmatic strategy. Its main brand solidified its high-end image with the X series, while the S series captured the offline mid-range market. Meanwhile, the iQOO sub-brand acted as a "disruptive innovator" with a 4.7% annual share, contributing significantly in Week 8 of 2025. This "main brand defense + sub-brand attack" tactic proved highly effective. vivo's self-developed V3 imaging chip and its collaboration with Zeiss on floating lens technology created a differentiated advantage in short-video creation. Moreover, vivo's extensive network of over 200,000 retail stores nationwide effectively mitigated online market fluctuations, maintaining its high market share.

Xiaomi ranked third with a 16.5% market share, followed by OPPO (including OnePlus' 2.6% share) with a total of 14.7%. Honor held 13%, Huawei Smart Selection accounted for 2.0%, realme for 1.0%, and other brands comprised 4.1% of the market.

With the diminishing returns of 5G upgrades, AI large language models, satellite communication, and foldable screens have become new focal points of competition. Huawei's ecosystem restructuring, vivo's deep channel penetration, Xiaomi's IoT strategy, and Apple's service transformation all indicate that competition has expanded from single products to encompass full-scenario experiences. In this context, brands capable of deeply integrating hardware innovation, software ecosystems, and localized insights will ultimately prevail in this ongoing intense competition.

In conclusion, the Week 8 of 2025 Chinese smartphone market share data reflects Huawei's strong comeback, Apple's precarious position, and the steady growth of vivo, Xiaomi, and others. This competition is not just about technological innovation but also reflects profound changes in China's consumer electronics industry. The future success will depend on who can better grasp technological trends and meet consumer needs in this "infinite war." This share ranking is merely a snapshot; future market trends remain uncertain and warrant continued observation. All manufacturers are actively adjusting their strategies to stand out. Ultimately, only time will tell the winner, but consumers will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this competition, enjoying better products and services. We look forward to more innovation and breakthroughs bringing new vitality and development to the Chinese smartphone market. This data analysis is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.