--- title: "Counterpoint Research: During the Spring Festival promotion period, smartphone sales in China decreased by 2% year-on-year, with tight storage supply putting pressure on OEMs" type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/279951549.md" description: "According to data from Counterpoint Research, smartphone sales in China declined by 2% year-on-year during the Spring Festival promotion period. Despite the introduction of government subsidy policies, overall demand remains weak. Rising storage prices have limited discounting power, leading to a decrease in sales. Apple achieved a 23% sales growth during this period, while Android manufacturers announced price increases. In the coming months, the Chinese smartphone market is expected to remain under pressure, with rising storage costs forcing brands to weigh between costs and profit margins" datetime: "2026-03-20T13:25:06.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/279951549.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/279951549.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/279951549.md) --- > Supported Languages: [简体中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/279951549.md) | [繁體中文](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/279951549.md) # Counterpoint Research: During the Spring Festival promotion period, smartphone sales in China decreased by 2% year-on-year, with tight storage supply putting pressure on OEMs According to Counterpoint Research's weekly tracking data on smartphone sales in China, smartphone sales in China decreased by 4% year-on-year in the first nine weeks of 2026. Despite the government's subsidy policy introduced at the beginning of the year, overall demand remains weak based on the market performance over the past two months. In February, domestic brands' Spring Festival promotional activities led to a rebound in sales compared to January, but rising storage prices limited the discount strength, resulting in a year-on-year decline of 2% in sales during the Spring Festival holiday and the first three weeks. Weekly smartphone sales in China for weeks 1-9 of 2026 (compared to 2025) ![Image](https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/http://img.zhitongcaijing.com/images/contentformat/5c8b0ec5fa22fc73c0c3072e50dceab8.jpg?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg) The continuous rise in storage costs is putting pressure on downstream manufacturers. In response, some Chinese manufacturers have officially announced price increases for certain existing models. Adjusting prices also allows them to observe the market's sensitivity to price changes, helping companies assess consumer acceptance of price hikes before launching new products and providing reference for pricing the next generation of models. If sales are significantly affected, manufacturers will adjust prices in a timely manner. Apple achieved strong sales growth of 23% year-on-year in the first nine weeks, thanks to discount activities on e-commerce platforms, and its base model iPhone 17 also meets the government's subsidy criteria. With supply chain advantages, Apple is capable of coping with the current storage crisis. While Android manufacturers have announced price increases, Apple has not followed suit but instead chosen to absorb some of the profit pressure and use this situation to expand its market share. Its cooperation with domestic storage chip manufacturers will help Huawei ensure a sufficient supply of storage chips amid rising global storage chip prices. Huawei is expected to seize more market share in the mid-to-low-end market through this opportunity. Looking ahead, the Chinese smartphone market is expected to continue facing pressure from March to May, although there may be a rebound due to the 618 shopping promotion in early June. The rise in storage costs is expected to persist in 2026, forcing smartphone brands to balance costs, profit margins, and shipment targets. Brands relying on entry-level models to drive market share will face more challenges ### Related Stocks - [GraniteShares 2x Long AAPL Daily ETF (AAPB.US)](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/AAPB.US.md) - [Apple Inc. 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