- Apple’s latest Pro iPhones are off to a surprisingly strong start in China.
- The new lineup has already made an impact on Apple’s position in the Chinese smartphone market.
- With another major iPhone launch approaching, Apple’s momentum could get even more interesting.
Apple’s newest premium iPhones have made a massive first impression in China, with the iPhone 18 Pro series sales breaking the record held by its previous generation. The sales of the iPhone 18 Pro series during its first three days surpassed the first-week sales record held by the predecessor.
According to Counterpoint Research, with a stronger demand among consumers, Apple stood in the #1 position in China’s smartphone market. Interestingly, it all happened prior to when the company prepares to launch its foldable iPhone, the iPhone Duo, in China later this month.
iPhone 18 Pro series sales outperform iPhone 17 Pro launch
The iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max went on sale in China on September 18. It means the lineup was available for only three out of seven days covered by Counterpoint’s Week 38 tracking period.
Surprisingly, even though the sales window was shorter, Counterpoint revealed the iPhone 18 Pro series during three days of sales was 12% higher than sales of the iPhone 17 Pro series during its first week in China in 2025.
As a result, Apple was able to cover 33% of China’s smartphone sales in Week 38, which positions the company at the top of the weekly market rankings. Counterpoint also pointed out that China’s overall weekly smartphone sales had been falling at a double-digit year-over-year rate since July.
Ivan Lam, senior analyst at Counterpoint, notes consumers appear to have picked the Pro models due to the current unavailability of the standard iPhone 18 (not launched yet). He added price increases among several Chinese flagship smartphones made the price difference narrow, which may have motivated consumers to choose Apple’s iPhone over other brand smartphones.
Apple turns attention to its first foldable iPhone
After grabbing much attention with the iPhone 18 Pro models, Apple is now heading towards a major expansion with its first foldable iPhone. Notably, the iPhone Duo will go on sale on October 23, 2026.
Ahead of its sale, consumers will get a chance to pre-order the iPhone Duo on October 16, 2026. For your information, the foldable iPhone is available in mainland China, starting at RMB 15,999 for the 256GB (base) variant.
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