BUSINESS

Chart of the Day: Huawei Reclaims China Smartphone Sales Crown

Published: Jul. 30, 2025 6:05 p.m. GMT+8

00:00

00:00/00:00

Listen to this article 1x

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. regained the crown as China’s largest smartphone brand in the second quarter of this year, as the tech behemoth doubles down on efforts to establish a self-sufficient software ecosystem to rival Google LLC’s Android and Apple Inc.’s iOS.

In the three months through June, Huawei shipped 12.2 million smartphones in China, a jump of 15% year-on-year, giving it an 18% market share, knocking Xiaomi Corp. off the top spot it won in the first quarter, according to a report published by market research firm Canalys.

Huawei Retakes the Top Spot

From 2021 to 2023 Huawei failed to make the top five as U.S. sanctions hamstrung its smartphone business. But the telecom-equipment maker staged a comeback in 2024, when it became the country’s No. 2 handset vendor, cornering 16% of the market.

You've accessed an article available only to subscribers

Subscribe today for just $.99.

VIEW OPTIONS

Unlock exclusive discounts with a Caixin group subscription — ideal for teams and organizations.

Subscribe to both Caixin Global and The Wall Street Journal — for the price of one.

Share this article

Open WeChat and scan the QR code

DIGEST HUB

Digest Hub

Back

Explore the story in 30 seconds

Huawei regained the top spot in China’s smartphone market in Q2 2024, shipping 12.2 million units and achieving an 18% market share.
HarmonyOS, now on over 40 Huawei devices with 8 million developers and 30,000+ apps, is expanding as Huawei invests over 170 billion yuan in R&D for chips and software.
China’s Q2 2024 smartphone shipments fell 4% year-on-year to 67.8 million units, ending four quarters of growth.

AI generated, for reference only

Who’s Who

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd.: Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. recaptured its position as China's top smartphone brand in Q2, shipping 12.2 million units for an 18% market share. After enduring U.S. sanctions, the company achieved a comeback by focusing on its self-sufficient HarmonyOS ecosystem, launching the Nova 14 series on HarmonyOS 5, and unveiling HarmonyOS 6 with AI features. They are investing heavily in R&D, exceeding 170 billion yuan in spending this year.

Xiaomi Corp.: Xiaomi Corp. was knocked off the top spot as China's largest smartphone brand in the second quarter of this year by Huawei. Previously, Xiaomi held the top position in the first quarter. In the second quarter, Xiaomi Corp. held a 15.3% market share, placing it fourth among smartphone brands by shipment.

Vivo Mobile Communications Co. Ltd.: Vivo Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. was among the top five smartphone brands in China for shipments during the second quarter of this year. The company held a 17% market share during this period.

Oppo Co. Ltd.: Oppo Co. Ltd. was among the top five smartphone brands in China during the second quarter of this year. The company secured a 16% market share, placing it third in terms of shipments, following Huawei and Vivo Mobile Communications Co. Ltd. and ahead of Xiaomi Corp. and Apple.

Apple Inc.: Apple Inc. was among the top five smartphone brands in China for the second quarter, holding a market share of 14.9%. The company's iOS operating system is mentioned as a rival to Huawei's self-sufficient software ecosystem, HarmonyOS.

Google LLC: Google LLC is the developer of Android, a software ecosystem that Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. aims to rival with its self-sufficient software ecosystem. Huawei launched HarmonyOS in 2019 as a countermeasure to U.S. sanctions that prevented Google from doing business with the Chinese company.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

2019：: Huawei originally launched HarmonyOS as a countermeasure to U.S. sanctions that banned Android’s developer Google from doing business with the company.

From 2021 to 2023：: Huawei failed to make the top five smartphone brands in China as U.S. sanctions hampered its business.

2023-10：: HarmonyOS Next, Huawei’s first operating system built independently from Android, was introduced.

2024：: Huawei staged a comeback, becoming China’s No. 2 handset vendor with a 16% market share.

2024：: Huawei spent 170 billion yuan ($23.7 billion) on research and development.

2025-05：: Huawei launched the Nova 14 series phones, its first Nova lineup to run on HarmonyOS 5.

Second quarter of 2025 (April-June 2025)：: Huawei became China’s largest smartphone brand again, shipping 12.2 million units and capturing an 18% market share.

2025-06：: At Huawei’s June developer conference, Zhang Ping’an said Huawei’s 2025 spending would exceed 170 billion yuan.

2025-08：: At Huawei’s annual developer conference, Richard Yu reported HarmonyOS had over 8 million developers and 30,000+ apps, and Huawei unveiled a preview of HarmonyOS 6.

AI generated, for reference only