Market research firm IDC has just released a report on the Chinese smartphone market in the third quarter of 2025, in which Huawei ranked third. Although still in the top three, the company is being pushed back by its biggest rival, Apple, in this race.
Vivo leads the list with 11.8 million units sold and accounts for 17.3% of the market share. However, Vivo's sales were lower than the same period last year. From July to September 2024, Vivo sold up to 12.8 million units in China.
Apple surprisingly came in second, thanks to the boost from the iPhone 17 series launched in September 2025. The new design, breakthrough features and the thinnest " iPhone Air" have brought huge sales in both the Chinese and global markets for Apple. According to IDC, Apple sold 10.8 million iPhones in the third quarter of this year in China, accounting for 15.8% of the market share, up 0.6% over the same period last year.
According to experts, the iPhone 17 has become the main reason why Huawei dropped to third place. Huawei shipped 10.4 million devices in the third quarter of this year and held a 15.2% market share. Although the gap between Apple and Huawei is not large, this shows that Apple's efforts to penetrate the Chinese market are really paying off.
In the final period of the year, Huawei is preparing to launch a number of new smartphone models in China, including Mate 80 Air. That promises to help Huawei regain its position in the Chinese phone market.
Xiaomi ranked fourth with 10 million units sold and accounted for 14.7% of the market share. The company's sales also decreased by 1.7% compared to the same period last year. Oppo ranked fifth with 9.9 million units sold and 14.5% market share, up 0.4% year-on-year.
Honor ranked sixth on the list with 9.8 million units sold in the third quarter of 2025 and accounting for 14.4% of the market share. The company's sales also decreased by 2.1% compared to the same period last year.
Total smartphone sales in the Chinese market in the third quarter of 2025 were 68.4 million units. This figure decreased by 0.6% compared to the same period last year and grew weakly in this quarter.
