TLDR
- iPhone 18 Pro sales in China rose 12% year-over-year in launch week
- Apple grabbed 33% weekly smartphone market share in China, the top spot
- AAPL stock fell 3% even as demand data looked strong
- Chinese flagship rivals raised prices over $200, narrowing their edge on Apple
- Apple’s first foldable, iPhone Duo, is expected to sell 6 million units this year
Apple stock slipped 3% on the day, closing near $329, even as fresh data showed the iPhone 18 Pro is selling well in China. Shares moved lower despite the positive sales news, a reminder that stock moves don’t always match headlines.
Counterpoint Research says iPhone 18 Pro sales in China rose 12% compared to last year’s Pro launch. That’s based on just three days of sales, since the phone only went on sale near the end of the tracked week.
Apple still managed to grab 33% of China’s smartphone market for that week. That put it in first place, ahead of every domestic rival.
The iPhone 18 Pro series is selling even better in China this year.
First-week sales reached approximately 1.3 million units, about 15% higher than the iPhone 17 Pro series during the same period.
The iPhone 18 Pro series appears to be even more popular this year.
— Ice Universe (@UniverseIce) September 28, 2026
Some unofficial estimates from Chinese blogger “RD Observation” go further. That account claims sell-through hit almost 1.3 million units in the first seven days.
Timing played a role here. Apple skipped a simultaneous standard iPhone 18 launch this year, pushing upgraders straight into the pricier Pro models.
Price Hikes Changed the Math
Chinese phone makers raised their own flagship prices by more than $200 this year. Rising memory and chip costs are the reason.
That shift narrowed the price gap between local phones and the iPhone. Analyst Ivan Lam said this made the iPhone’s price look more reasonable by comparison.
The China version of the iPhone 18 Pro starts at CNY 9,999, or roughly $1,500. The Pro Max starts at CNY 10,999, close to $1,600.
Apple’s overall strategy this cycle was different too. It launched the Pro lineup and its first foldable in fall, saving the standard iPhone 18 for spring.
The Foldable Bet
That foldable, called the iPhone Duo, doesn’t even go on sale until October. Counterpoint is already forecasting about 6 million units sold this year.
Priced at $1,999, the Duo sits at the top of Apple’s lineup. Counterpoint says that volume fits a niche product, not a mainstream flagship.
Research firm IDC expects the Duo to help push global foldable phone shipments up 13% this year, to 22.9 million units. IDC noted the segment would likely have shrunk without Apple’s entry.
None of this happened in a strong market. China’s overall smartphone sales fell 17% year-over-year during the same week, continuing months of double-digit declines tied to soft demand and higher component costs.
Huawei also launched a new phone during the same stretch. Its Pura X View is a wide-screen slab phone aimed at buyers who want a bigger screen without going foldable.
Counterpoint expects the newest generation of Chinese flagship phones to post weaker fourth-quarter sales than the models they replaced. Rising prices tied to 2-nanometer chips and higher memory are cited as the main drag.
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