DIGITIMES' observation and analyses over China's smartphone industry in the third quarter of 2025 show that the Chinese market remained weak while overseas demand strengthened. Chinese smartphone brands shipped a total of 177 million units in the quarter, representing only a 1% quarter-over-quarter increase and a 0.9% year-over-year growth.
Examining the shipment concentration among Chinese smartphone brands in the third quarter of 2025, the top three brands—Xiaomi, Oppo, and Transsion—recorded a combined quarter-over-quarter shipment growth slightly higher than that of Vivo, Honor, Lenovo, and Huawei, the top-4 to -7 brands, combined. Consequently, the top three brands accounted for 57.3% of shipments, marginally up from 57.1% in the previous quarter.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter of 2025, with overseas markets entering peak season and continued strong demand, coupled with Singles' Day promotional events in China, overall shipments by Chinese smartphone brands are expected to grow by 7.5% quarter-over-quarter.
Chart 1: Key factors affecting the 2H25 China smartphone industry: Supply
Chart 2: Key factors affecting the 2H25 China smartphone industry: Demand
Chart 3: China smartphone industry shipments, 3Q24-4Q25 (m units)
Chart 8: China smartphone industry's export shipments, 3Q24-4Q25 (m units)
Chart 9: Export shipments by Chinese vendor, 3Q24-4Q25 (m units)
Chart 11: China smartphone industry shipments, 2021-2025 (m units)
