Huawei has returned to the top of China’s smartphone market for the first time in more than four years. In the second quarter (Q2) of 2025, the company shipped 12.5 million smartphones, giving it an 18.1% share of the market, according to data from IDC. While this was a slight 3.4% drop compared to the same period last year, the Chinese tech giant still managed to overtake its domestic competitors Vivo, Oppo, and Xiaomi (as well as Apple) to become the top smartphone brand in the country once again.

Vivo, which had been one of the leading brands in previous quarters, dropped to second place (~ 17.3% market share) with 11.9 million units shipped, a 10.1% decline from the same period in 2024. Oppo followed in third place (with around 15.5% market share), shipping 10.7 million units, which was also a drop of about 5% year-on-year. However, Xiaomi was the only brand in the top five to grow its shipments (~ 10.4 million smartphones with about 15.1% market share). The company benefited from strong demand for affordable models.

Meanwhile, the US-based tech giant Apple slipped to fifth place in the ranking. It shipped 9.6 million iPhones in the second quarter (a slight decrease of 1.3% from the year before). However, the company’s market share actually increased to 13.9%, as it offered selective discounts and partnered with local retailers. Even Counterpoint Research’s latest China Smartphone Weekly Sales Tracker showed that the tech giant recorded an 8% year-over-year rise in iPhone sales during the three months ending in June, marking its first quarterly growth in the region since the second quarter of 2023.