Apple's iPhone shipments in China declined by 9 percent in the first quarter compared to the year earlier, and it was the only major smartphone vendor to see a decline, according to data from research firm IDC.
Shipments of iPhones fell to 9.8 million units, giving Apple a market share of 13.7 percent, down from 17.4 percent in the previous quarter. Apple has now had seven straight quarters of decline.
For local vendors, it was another story. Market leader Xiaomi saw shipments rise 40 percent to 13.3 million units. Meanwhile, industry-wide shipments rose by 3.3 percent.
According to IDC, Apple's premium pricing structure prevented the company from capitalizing on new government subsidies introduced at the start of the year that fuelled growth in the first quarter.
Under the subsidies, consumers of electronics get a 15 percent refund of products that are priced under 6,000 yuan ($820). Apple's standard iPhone 16 starts at 5,999 yuan.
Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has high expectations for Apple's first foldable iPhone.
In his Power On newsletter today, he said the foldable iPhone will be "the most significant overhaul in the iPhone's history."
"iPhone 4, iPhone 6 and iPhone X were clearly a big deal, but this is a whole new design," he said.
Like Samsung's Galaxy Z Fold 7, the foldable iPhone will reportedly open up like ...
iOS 26.5 is now available for developers, and while it doesn't include any new Siri capabilities, there are some major changes for the European Union, and smaller tweaks for features available worldwide.
Suggested Places
In the Maps app, there's a new "Suggested Places" feature that recommends locations to visit based on trending places nearby and recent searches. When Apple launches ads in ...
New images of an alleged iPhone 18 Pro prototype and screen protectors have emerged from multiple sources, adding weight to earlier reports that Apple plans to significantly shrink the Dynamic Island later this year.
An X user called @earlyappleleaks recently shared an image purportedly showing a prototype iPhone 18 Pro with a noticeably smaller Dynamic Island. In the picture, the flashlight ...
Apple has announced it is lowering App Store developer fees in China from March 15, with commission rates for standard in-app purchases (IAPs) set to change to 25%, down from 30%.
In an update on its Developer blog, Apple also said the commission rate for qualifying IAPs under the App Store Small Business Program and Mini Apps Partner Program (and auto-renewals of IAP subscriptions after the ...
Tuesday March 17, 2026 3:32 am PDT by Tim Hardwick
Apple today launched its atrial fibrillation history feature for Apple Watch in mainland China.
Since 2022, Apple Watch in the U.S. has supported AFib History, which allows users diagnosed with atrial fibrillation to view an estimate of how frequently their heart is in this type of irregular rhythm.
The feature analyzes pulse rate data collected by a photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor to...
Wednesday March 18, 2026 6:20 am PDT by Joe Rossignol
Apple CEO Tim Cook is in China, where he attended one of the company's 50th anniversary events outside of its Taikoo Li retail store in Chengdu today. The event revolved around a performance by Chinese singer Li Yuchun, and it comes after Apple hosted a surprise Alicia Keys concert at its Grand Central store in New York last week.
According to the China Daily, Cook is scheduled to attend the ...
And it is only gonna get „worse“. I was in Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong recently and the hardware of these phones there make iPhone look like the Nokia of 2025. Needless to say, I returned with my first ever Oppo device (not even sold here in Germany).
Apple is lucky they got most people in the west hooked on their locked in ecosystem
Not surprised. Smartphone makers around the globe have surpassed Apple when it comes to hardware of their devices. People want more than the same old slab that Apple has been churning out year after year.
I'm not surprised. Even as a lifelong Apple owner/user I can't help but look with envy. When you see what Xiaomi is producing like with the 15 Ultra, of Oppo with the Find N5 that is some amazing kit. Sure the software is running a bit behind in polish, but also catching up rapidly. Or even when you take a look at how Samsung UI7 introduced on the S25 Ultra is progressing and integrating AI well and not just do emoji updates, they are taking the software to another level. Similarly with plain Android and Gemini integrations.
Apple is running behind on the hardware, and on the software. Where they still have the edge, just, is eco system integration. But with the global drive to move away from US services I can't see that lasting long. And the same is happening with Android hardware that is being de-googled.
And it is only gonna get „worse“. I was in Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong recently and the hardware of these phones there make iPhone look like the Nokia of 2025. Needless to say, I returned with my first ever Oppo device (not even sold here in Germany).
Apple is lucky they got most people in the west hooked on their locked in ecosystem
I live in Tokyo and travel to Seoul HK and Singapore every month, and I literally have no idea what you’re talking about. All the hardware looks basically the same.
