China's domestic smartphone shipments declined 9.3% year-on-year to 22.6 million units in June 2025, according to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a research institute backed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). This brought the total shipments for the first half of 2025 to 141 million units, representing a 3.9% decrease compared to the same period last year. Foreign-branded phones, including Apple iPhones, experienced a sharper decline with shipments falling 31.3% year-on-year to 1.97 million units in June. Market analysts from Jefferies attributed the overall slump to an inventory overhang in the Chinese market. Meanwhile, Huawei has reclaimed the top position in China's smartphone shipments for the first time in four years, overcoming challenges posed by U.S. regulatory restrictions that had limited its access to components. Huawei's recovery was driven by accelerated development of core technologies and efforts to reduce reliance on foreign suppliers.