Apple’s iPhone 18 Pro series is off to a strong start in China. It grew 12% year over year in its first three days on sale and lifted Apple to the top of the Chinese smartphone market for the week.
The numbers come from Counterpoint Research’s report. The iPhone 18 Pro series went on sale on September 18, so only three days of Week 38, which ran from September 14 to 20, counted toward the result.
Apple Took a 33% Share of China’s Smartphone Market in Week 38
That 33% share was enough for the No. 1 spot in a market that has been shrinking. Counterpoint says China’s weekly smartphone sales have fallen by double digits year over year since July, with soft demand and rising memory costs holding buyers back.
Counterpoint credits three things for the iPhone 18 Pro series launch.
- Strong early upgrades
- Aggressive channel support
- A narrowing price gap between top-tier competitor flagships and the iPhone Pro series
Senior Analyst Ivan Lam says the delayed launch of the base iPhone 18 may have pushed some shoppers up to the Pro series. Apple staggered the iPhone 18 launch, with the Pro models going first. He also points to price hikes of more than $200 on many Chinese flagship models, which may have raised the price anchor and made the iPhone look like better value by comparison.
Huawei’s Wide Screen Phones Are Also Selling Well as the iPhone Duo Approaches
Huawei’s new Pura X View is a hinge-free slab with a 16:9.5 wide-screen ratio. Counterpoint says its pricing and flagship-level specs supported strong initial sales. Research Analyst Shiwen Ma says it gives buyers a bigger screen without a foldable’s price premium or bulk.
The Huawei Pura X Max, a wide foldable, has also seen renewed sales momentum several months after launch. Counterpoint ties that to the wave of wide foldable launches, including the iPhone Duo and the Xiaomi 18 Fold. Apple’s own foldable has not reached buyers yet, with iPhone Duo Get Ready starting October 12, four days before pre-orders.
Chinese Android Flagships Face a Weaker Fourth Quarter After Big Price Increases
Chinese Android brands also launched new flagships in September, with most going on sale before the Chinese National Day holiday. Rising memory costs have pushed prices well above their predecessors, and the higher-memory variants and 2nm chip models saw the biggest increases.
Apple has been outpacing the wider market for a while. It built 52 million iPhones in the second quarter of 2026, up 14% year over year, while global smartphone production fell. Counterpoint expects this generation of Chinese flagships to sell less than their predecessors over the fourth quarter.
