Apple was the only major smartphone OEM to record a meaningful year-over-year growth in China-related sales for the month of January 2026, with the rest of the OEMs having to contend with a veritable bevy of adverse base effects.
Counterpoint Research: Apple recorded a year-over-year sales growth of 8 percent in China for January 2026, while other major OEMs recorded a double-digit percent decline
As is evident from the above tabulation by Counterpoint Research, Apple recorded year-over-year sales growth of 8 percent in China for January 2026. However, all other major Chinese smartphone OEMs recorded double-digit-percent declines, largely due to the high base effect.
Basically, China introduced a subsidy program for smartphones in January 2025, where consumers purchasing a smartphone worth 6,000 Yuan received a subsidy of up to 500 Yuan (15 percent of the price). When combined with the earlier onset of the Chinese lunar new year, the two factors combined to artificially inflate the sales figure for January 2025, and led to adverse base effects for last month.
For its part, Apple only joined the subsidy program in June 2025, which means it will face its own base effect-type reckoning in the summer of 2026.
Do note that China is now gradually phasing out such subsidies, which, when combined with a weakening consumer sentiment, is leading to a regression of sorts in the Asian giant's smartphone sphere. But the brands are countering these headwinds with targeted discounts.
Of course, we recently noted that a quirky reason why Apple's iPhone 17 Pro Max was doing so well in China lately had a lot to do with its 'Cosmic Orange' color, which is the signature color of the French luxury brand Hermès, prompting many Chinese consumers to covet the iPhone as a luxury product.
About the author: Writing is my one incontrovertible passion. Over the past six years, he has authored over 2,200 distinct articles on financial and tech-related topics, spanning nearly 1 million words. And he has been a member of Wcctech mobile team since 2025. As an alumnus of the University of Toronto, Rotman Commerce Program, I bring nuance, in-depth knowledge, and a unique perspective to every topic that I cover. When I'm not writing, I'm traveling the world, exploring hidden confectionaries and restaurants as an aspiring food connoisseur.
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