Foreign-brand smartphone shipments to China grew just 1.8% year-on-year in April to 3.59 million units, a sharp deceleration from Q1 2026 when iPhone shipments surged roughly 42% year-on-year. The slowdown is attributed to seasonal factors, demand pull-forward from earlier quarters, and a high base effect from late 2025. Apple dominates the foreign-brand category and had been recovering its China market share after a steep 2024 contraction. The overall Chinese smartphone market contracted 3.3% in Q1, with Huawei reclaiming the top spot and Xiaomi shipments collapsing 35%. Whether April marks a one-off dip or a flatter trend will become clearer with May and June CAICT data.
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