Huawei is rising again in mainland China: IDC estimates it shipped more smartphones than any rival in the second quarter of 2026, even as the overall market contracted. That is a real domestic recovery, but it is not proof that Huawei has restored its former global position—or that its gains will be easy to sustain.
Huawei’s comeback is measurable, but the market is shrinking
IDC’s preliminary Q2 2026 estimate gives Huawei 22.6% of mainland China’s smartphone shipments, up from 18.1% a year earlier. IDC estimates Huawei shipments grew 19.4% year over year. Omdia’s independent estimate is close: approximately 23% share. These figures describe shipments into channels, not necessarily phones bought by consumers, and research firms can differ in their methods and vendor groupings.
The broader market did not share Huawei’s growth. IDC estimates Q2 shipments fell 4.3% year over year to about 66 million units, the fifth consecutive quarterly decline. Omdia estimates 66.1 million units and a 2% decline. The difference reflects separate estimates, not evidence that one figure is an exact universal count. IDC also says first-half shipments were about 134 million, down 4.2%. IDC’s Q2 analysis and Omdia’s Q2 report both describe a market under pressure.
| Vendor | Q2 2026 share | Q2 2025 share | Year-over-year shipment change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Huawei | 22.6% | 18.1% | +19.4% |
| Apple | 18.1% | 13.9% | +24.4% |
| OPPO, including OnePlus and realme | 16.0% | 17.3% | −9.7% |
| vivo, including iQOO | 16.0% | 17.0% | −11.4% |
| Xiaomi | 12.4% | 15.1% | −21.7% |
| Honor | 11.3% | 11.9% | −9.5% |
Shares and growth rates are IDC’s preliminary, rounded estimates for mainland China shipments. The table makes two points clear: Huawei is the largest vendor, not a majority-market owner, and Apple is gaining at the same time. Neither Huawei’s lead nor Apple’s growth means the rest of the market has disappeared.
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The rise began before the latest quarter
Q2 was not an isolated launch-quarter result. IDC said Huawei maintained the lead in Q1 2026, when China’s smartphone market declined 3.3% year over year to about 69 million units. IDC connected Huawei’s performance to improved supply of flagship and foldable phones, demand for the Mate 80 series, and the Pura X foldable. It reported more than 1.5 million Pura X shipments in Q1. That is evidence of momentum across consecutive quarters, although it does not establish that the same growth rate will continue. IDC’s Q1 report details the earlier result.
Which Huawei phones are contributing?
Mate: the flagship anchor
The Mate range gives Huawei a high-end flagship line with which to compete for premium buyers. IDC specifically linked the Mate 80 series to Q1 demand. Strong flagship sales can raise a brand’s visibility and support its position against Apple, but shipment-share data alone does not disclose the Mate line’s profitability.
Pura: premium designs and foldables
The Pura range extends Huawei’s premium offering, including camera-oriented designs and foldable formats. IDC identified the Pura X as a Q1 contributor; Omdia cited the Pura X Max among products that received a favorable market response. Foldables can help distinguish Huawei and support premium positioning, but a successful model does not by itself show that foldables account for a large portion of all phone sales.
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Huawei describes the Mate XT as the world’s first commercial tri-fold smartphone. That is the company’s own product claim, not an independent market ranking. Huawei’s corporate information includes that claim.
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Enjoy: coverage beyond the flagship tier
Omdia cited the Enjoy 90 Pro Max as part of Huawei’s effort to reinforce both entry-level and flagship segments. A wider range matters in a weak market: relying only on expensive foldables would leave the company more exposed to a narrow pool of buyers. The evidence cited here does not establish how much of Huawei’s Q2 volume came from any one product family.
Why Huawei is gaining while other vendors lose ground
More resilient premium demand and steadier pricing
Component and memory costs have pressured phone makers. IDC says many Android vendors responded by raising prices or trimming specifications, while Huawei and Apple kept prices steadier and used targeted promotions. In a market where buyers are cautious, that relative-value proposition may help premium brands retain customers who still intend to upgrade. It is one reported factor, not proof of any individual buyer’s motivation.
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Better availability of sought-after products
Demand cannot turn into shipments if products are difficult to obtain. IDC credits improved supply of Huawei’s flagship and foldable models in Q1. This suggests availability has become more supportive than in periods of tighter supply, but does not show that production is unconstrained or that Huawei can meet any level of demand.
Domestic supply-chain alignment and brand pull
Omdia points to Huawei’s R&D capability and alignment with domestic supply chains as sources of resilience amid cost volatility. Huawei also has a well-known brand in China and an expanding connected-device ecosystem. These factors can reinforce one another, but the available shipment estimates do not quantify how much growth comes from brand loyalty, ecosystem effects, product features, promotions, or other reasons.
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Government subsidies are not a simple explanation for the latest quarter. IDC says their boost had faded and that smartphone sales during China’s 618 shopping festival fell close to 15% year over year. A weak promotional period makes Huawei’s relative performance notable, while also leaving future results exposed to changes in consumer incentives and seasonal demand.
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HarmonyOS strengthens Huawei’s domestic position—but does not erase global software limits
In mainland China, Huawei can build its own operating-system, services, and device-integration strategy rather than depending on Google’s mobile ecosystem. That gives the company a way to link phones with other Huawei products and to deepen user retention. It should not be confused with HarmonyOS having solved the software problem for every country: app availability and compatibility vary by region, and Chinese and international device experiences can differ.
Huawei reported that devices running HarmonyOS 5 and HarmonyOS 6 exceeded 36 million in 2025, and that its HarmonyOS ecosystem had more than 10 million registered developers. Those are company-reported counts; device totals are not the same as active smartphone users, and developer registrations do not establish that every app a buyer needs is available. Huawei’s 2025 annual-report announcement also says the company is continuing investment in HarmonyOS, AI, security, devices, and developer support. It reports CNY192.3 billion in 2025 R&D spending, or 21.8% of revenue—company-wide figures, not smartphone-only spending. Huawei’s annual-report announcement provides those figures.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Resilience is not the same as complete independence from sanctions
US export restrictions disrupted Huawei’s access to advanced chips, chip-design tools, and Google mobile services. Its current domestic recovery shows that those restrictions did not permanently remove it from China’s premium smartphone market. Market analysts’ references to domestic supply-chain alignment and R&D point to adaptation, not proof that Huawei has eliminated every constraint.
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Whether Huawei can extend its lead depends partly on chip yields, components, manufacturing capacity, and the ability to supply products at scale. The market-share estimates do not establish the process node or performance of current chips, unrestricted access to advanced manufacturing, or parity with the most advanced chips made elsewhere. A defensible conclusion is that Huawei has demonstrated resilience under restrictions, not that it has overcome them.
Huawei’s competitors show a premium-led split
Apple is the clearest parallel to Huawei’s Q2 performance. IDC estimates Apple’s share rose to 18.1% from 13.9%, with shipments up 24.4%; Omdia puts Apple at 19% and says its mainland-China shipments reached a record second-quarter level. Both premium brands benefited from steadier pricing and comparatively resilient high-end demand. Huawei’s rise is therefore not simply a story of taking customers from Apple.
IDC estimates OPPO and vivo each held 16% share in Q2, while Xiaomi had 12.4% and Honor 11.3%. Those vendors remain substantial competitors. IDC’s grouping counts OnePlus and realme with OPPO, and iQOO with vivo; Honor is a separate company and should not be folded into Huawei’s share. The contrast in Q2 suggests premium leaders gained ground while several competitors lost share, but it does not by itself explain each rival’s results or future prospects.
What would make Huawei’s comeback durable?
Two quarters of leadership make the recovery more credible than a one-quarter spike. A durable comeback would require Huawei to convert that momentum into repeatable performance rather than relying on a limited launch window or a few high-profile models.
- Leadership persists across several quarters, including outside major Mate and Pura launch periods.
- Growth spreads beyond premium phones and foldables into a broader range of products.
- Supply improves without sharp price increases or recurring availability constraints.
- HarmonyOS attracts a strong enough range of widely used apps and services to reduce friction for mainstream buyers.
- Domestic sourcing and manufacturing support greater volume despite component-cost pressure.
- Huawei sustains share without relying on promotions that undermine profitability.
- International launches become more relevant in markets where software, network compatibility, and service support can be established.
Shipment share cannot answer whether Huawei’s phone business is more profitable. It does not show average selling prices, gross margins, marketing costs, retail subsidies, inventory, or channel profitability. Nor can shipments alone distinguish demand from channel restocking. A fuller financial judgment would need segment-level phone economics that the cited market-share figures do not provide.
The geographic limit matters, too. These data concern mainland China, not Greater China or the global smartphone market. International availability, Google Mobile Services access, app compatibility, 5G certification, and sanctions-related supply constraints differ by country. China’s leading-vendor status should not be presented as proof that Huawei has returned to its pre-restriction global position.
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