Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup didn’t just sell well during China’s massive Singles Day festival, it single-handedly lifted the entire smartphone market, according to new data from Counterpoint Research.
iPhone 17 Dominates Singles Day Sales
Counterpoint’s latest report (via Reuters) shows Apple was the top-selling smartphone brand, claiming 26% of all smartphone sales during the month-long Singles Day period. Overall smartphone sales grew only 3% year-over-year, and without the iPhone, the market would have declined by 5%.
Demand for the new iPhone 17 models remained strong throughout the festival, ending November 11. This continues a positive momentum shift for Apple, which has been outpacing the broader Chinese smartphone market after years of cooling demand.
The iPhone 17 is also proving to be global success as Apple looks well set to throw Samsung off the throne and become the word’s top phone maker once again.
Record Spending Boosts Apple’s Momentum
Data provider Syntun reports that total Singles Day sales across major e-commerce platforms hit 1.70 trillion yuan ($240 billion) which is a huge jump from 1.44 trillion yuan last year.
Apple already hinted during its latest earnings call that this could be its strongest December quarter ever, and China’s surge is a major part of that outlook.
Rivals Lose Ground Amid Apple’s Surge
While iPhone 17 sales boomed, competing brands didn’t share the same success:
- Huawei saw the sharpest fall, dropping from 17% to 13% market share. Its Mate 80 launch was too late to impact the Singles Day cycle.
- Xiaomi held onto the second-largest share (17%), but its sales dipped compared to last year, partly due to the early release of the Xiaomi 17 series.
- Other major vendors struggled to keep pace as Apple captured a disproportionate share of festival traffic and d emand.
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Why iPhone 17 Is Winning in China
Several factors appear to be driving strong demand:
- Fresh design updates across the lineup
- Improved battery life and camera systems
- Competitive trade-in offers by Chinese retailers
- Apple’s deeper integrations with China-specific apps and services
For now, Apple’s iPhone 17 lineup is doing the heavy lifting, not just for Cupertino, but for the entire Chinese smartphone market.
