During this year’s 618 promotional season (Week 22: May 26-June 1 to Week 25: June 16-22) in China, Apple claimed the top spot for smartphone sales and grew 8% year-over-year (YoY), according to Counterpoint Research.
The 618 shopping festival in China is an annual event held on June 18th, marking the second largest shopping day in the country after Singles’ Day
Apple’s growth was thanks to aggressive price cuts on the iPhone 16 series, according to Counterpoint. These reductions made the iPhone 16 Pro eligible for China’s national smartphone subsidy program. Counterpoint says this marks one of the largest official price cuts for iPhone Pro models in recent years. After subsidies, the iPhone 16 PCro 128GB was available at more than 30% below its original launch price.
China’s central government launched a ~$41.4 billion (RMB 300 billion) subsidy program to stimulate consumer purchases of electronic products, including smartphones priced under $828 (~RMB 6,000). While the first tranche of funding significantly boosted first quarter sales, implementation challenges have since emerged, according to Counterpoint. Still, despite administrative hurdles and a recent slowdown in subsidy disbursement, the program is expected to continue through the remainder of 2025, and may even extend into 2026, based on our supply chain checks.
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