Following years of declining sales in China, and the rise of local rivals, Apple saw demand for the iPhone 17 range soar in October 2025.
Demand for smartphones had been falling in China for many years, with Apple's iPhone trending downwards, when it wasn't having extremely poor sales. But now according to Reuters, a new report from Counterpoint Research says that the iPhone has reversed that decline, chiefly because of the new iPhone 17 models.
Specifically, in October 2025, the research shows that Apple's iPhone sales rose 37% compared to the same period in 2024. The report states that all three iPhone 17 models had mid-to-high double-digit percentage growth.
The report appears to exclude the iPhone Air, which was delayed in China to around mid-October. It's also a new model and so doesn't have a direct comparison in 2024.
Counterpoint says that of the remaining three models, the base iPhone 17 was the most popular. It also says that these new models accounted for over 80% of Apple's total iPhone sales in the region.
Reportedly, the sales do not appear to be tapering off, either. Counterpoint expects sales to continue to be high in November 2025, and to break records in December 2025.
Alongside the success of the iPhone, local Chinese smartphone brands also contributed to making the whole market grow. Oppo saw sales rise 19% year over year, for example, meaning that the overall China market grew 8%.
These latest figures do show a reversal from prior years, but they're also not a great surprise. That delayed iPhone Air sold out in minutes once pre-orders could start, for instance.
And Apple also saw record-breaking pre-orders for the iPhone 17 ranger in September 2025.
