China smartphone market share in 2025 was split almost evenly among five brands, with Huawei narrowly first in Omdia’s full-year count and Apple, vivo, Xiaomi and Oppo each within a few percentage points of it.
The country is one of the largest phone markets and home to many of the names covered in the guide to chinese tech brands, so its rankings are closely watched.
The 2025 full-year ranking
According to Omdia, as reported by Developing Telecoms, Huawei regained the title of China’s leading smartphone vendor for the first time in five years. The research firm’s mainland China shipment figures for 2025 were as follows (Developing Telecoms).
- Huawei: 46.8 million units, a 17% share.
- Vivo: 46.0 million units, 16%.
- Apple: 45.9 million units, 16%.
- Xiaomi: 43.7 million units, 15%.
- Oppo: 42.8 million units, 15%.
The gap between first and fifth place is only a few million phones. The shares in the list are rounded to whole percentages, which hides how tight the race was, because the unit counts show first, second and third place were separated by under a million phones.
These are shipments, meaning phones sent into the sales channel, rather than confirmed sales to buyers. Brand rankings can shift between firms for that reason, as the next section shows.
Why different research firms give different numbers
Counterpoint Research also ranked Huawei first in China for 2025, with a 16.4% market share, followed closely by Apple and vivo at around 16% each, while Xiaomi and Oppo trailed slightly behind at roughly 15% each (MacRumors, summarising Counterpoint).
The two sources agree on the leader and on the tight grouping, but they differ on the exact order of the next places and on the totals. Each firm tracks shipments with its own method and sources, so a one-percentage-point difference in a single brand’s share is not unusual and does not mean one set of numbers is wrong.
Readers comparing sources should check the period, the geography and the unit. Mainland China figures differ from figures that include Hong Kong or Taiwan, and shipments differ from retail sales. When a headline gives a share without those details, it is hard to compare with another headline.
The fourth-quarter swing
The full-year order hides a sharp change late in 2025. Counterpoint said Apple’s shipments in China rose 28% year over year during the holiday quarter, which put the company first in the market with a 22% share in the fourth quarter. It attributed the change to strong demand for the iPhone 17 lineup, which accounted for roughly 20% of Apple’s shipments in China that quarter (MacRumors).
Omdia’s quarter looked similar. Apple’s fourth-quarter share grew sharply to 22%, with 16.5 million units shipped, a 26% year-on-year increase. Huawei slipped in the quarter to 11.1 million units, or 14.7%, down from 16.3% a year earlier (Developing Telecoms).
How Apple builds its phones is a separate topic, covered in the guide on who makes iphones. On the demand side, Counterpoint said Apple benefited from an accelerated supply ramp late in the year, which let it meet holiday demand more effectively than some rivals constrained by component availability. The notable exception in Apple’s lineup was the iPhone Air, which Counterpoint said captured only a low single-digit share of Apple’s China shipments after its debut, attributed to a later launch than in other regions and to perceived trade-offs between its ultra-thin design and overall feature set (MacRumors).
Other brands moved too. In Omdia’s count, vivo followed Apple in the fourth quarter with 11.9 million units, while Oppo climbed from sixth with 11.6 million units, up 10.6% year on year. Xiaomi shipped 10.0 million units and kept a top-five position (Developing Telecoms). Huawei’s full-year win and fourth-quarter slip show how much a single strong launch window can reshape a ranking in a market where the leaders are this close.
A flat market with rising costs
Omdia put the mainland China market at 282.3 million units in 2025, down 1% year on year from 284.6 million units in 2024, with fourth-quarter shipments of 76.4 million units (Developing Telecoms). Counterpoint reported that shipments in China declined 1.6% year over year in the fourth quarter of 2025 and fell 0.6% for the full year, reflecting weaker consumer demand driven primarily by rising prices linked to escalating memory costs (MacRumors).
The cost theme continues into the outlook. Omdia analyst Lucas Zhong said that rising costs will become a major challenge for smartphone vendors in both mainland China and global markets in 2026, and that memory price inflation is creating a highly dynamic environment for component supply, product strategy and pricing.
What the government subsidy did
Official policy also shaped 2025. The Chinese government’s plan, announced in January 2025, offers consumers who buy smartphones, tablets, smartwatches or wristbands priced below 6,000 yuan a subsidy covering 15 percent of the sales price, with a maximum of 500 yuan per item and one subsidised item per category. It applies to both domestic and foreign brands (gov.cn).
As of late May 2025 the Ministry of Commerce said over 48 million consumers had participated in the digital products subsidy scheme, buying a total of 51.48 million products and generating about 143.3 billion yuan in sales. Third-party data cited in the same report showed that sales volume of smartphones priced between 2,000 and 4,000 yuan rose 13 percent year on year in the first four months, while the 4,000 to 6,000 yuan range saw sales jump 43 percent (gov.cn).
The ministry said the policies had facilitated an upgrade towards higher-end products. The price cap matters for brand rankings, because phones above the threshold do not qualify, which affects how competitive the premium end of each brand’s range looks.
China compared with the world
China’s brands also compete outside the country. According to IDC’s Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, global smartphone shipments reached 1.26 billion units in 2025, up 1.9% year over year. Globally Apple remained the largest vendor, shipping 247.8 million iPhones for a 19.7% share, with Samsung second at 241.2 million units and a 19.1% share, and Xiaomi placing third with 165.3 million units and a 13.1% share (MacRumors).
A phone ranked highly in China is not always sold in the same form elsewhere, since software, network bands and warranty terms can differ by region. Shoppers who consider importing a model can read about duties and plugs in the guide to buying electronics from china.
Frequently asked questions
Which brand sold the most phones in China in 2025?
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Huawei, according to Omdia and Counterpoint, although the margin over vivo and Apple was very small in both sets of figures.
Did Apple lead China at any point in 2025?
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Yes. Counterpoint reported that Apple ranked first in the fourth quarter with a 22% share, and Omdia also had Apple’s fourth-quarter share at 22%.
Did the Chinese market grow in 2025?
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No. Omdia reported a decline of 1% for the year, and Counterpoint reported a decline of 0.6% for the full year.
Does the national subsidy cover foreign brands?
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Yes. The plan applies to both domestic and foreign brands for eligible products priced below 6,000 yuan.
