It is often said that the Chinese market is the world's largest smartphone market, but also the most complex and challenging one, given the fierce competition. It is the home turf of domestic phone brands, yet Apple, Samsung, and others are also battling it out here.

This is indeed the case. Huawei, Xiaomi, OPPO, VIVO, Honor, Lenovo, Nubia, and others are all Chinese brands and do wield greater local influence in China. Add to that the two giants Apple and Samsung, and any brand that can succeed in the Chinese market will likely succeed globally.

But even though competition in the Chinese market is fierce, Apple still commands unmatched influence in China. No matter how strong domestic phones become, Apple still holds its ground.

For example, when this year's iPhone 18 Pro series was released, the internet was flooded with complaints that it lacked innovation and was overpriced. But what happened in reality? Chinese consumers bought it like crazy, and from a global perspective, Chinese people can be said to be Apple's most enthusiastic buyers.

First, looking at sales: according to Counterpoint data, in the first three weeks after the iPhone 18 Pro went on sale, Apple's iPhone 18 Pro sales grew by about 3% compared with the same period last year.

Among major global markets, China grew 29% – the highest growth in the world – while the US fell 4%, Japan fell 27%, and other countries and regions grew 3%. It was China's strong growth that drove Apple's total sales up 3%. Had China's performance been slightly weaker, Apple's total sales would probably have declined.

Looking at Apple's third-quarter financial report, China also posted the highest revenue growth, up 21%, far higher than the US, Japan, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and other regions.

As shown in the figure above, revenue in China grew 21%, Europe grew 11.5%, the US grew 10%, Japan fell 1.4%, and other Asia-Pacific regions grew 15%. China still had the highest growth.

This is enough to prove the point: no matter how fierce competition in the Chinese market is, Apple can still thrive in China. In fact, compared with other countries and regions around the world, it seems Chinese people love buying Apple even more.

I think this will definitely make domestic phone makers feel a bit awkward.

In the Chinese market, Apple is selling so well. Why can't domestic phones – the local strongholds – suppress Apple? It is said that Apple's share in China has now reached about 33%, ranking first.

This is really a slap in the face. People say Apple lacks innovation, yet in the end it beats all domestic phones.