China's domestic mobile phone market saw shipments total 133 million units in the first half of 2026, down 5.5% year-on-year, according to data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). In June alone, shipments came in at 19.149 million units, a 15.3% drop from a year earlier, with 5G devices accounting for 16.201 million units, down 12.1%, and 84.6% of the monthly total.
For the six-month period, 5G handset shipments reached 123 million units, up 1.7% year-on-year, representing 92.0% of overall shipments.
New model launches also slowed: June saw 28 new models hit the market, down 22.2% year-on-year, though 5G models among them surged 62.5% to 13 units, accounting for 46.4% of new releases. Over the first half, 185 new models were introduced, a 22.3% decline, of which 109 were 5G-capable, up 5.8%, making up 58.9% of the total.
Looking at brand origin, domestic brands shipped 15.871 million units in June, down 23.1% and claiming an 82.9% share of total shipments; they also rolled out 25 new models, down 26.5%, representing 89.3% of all new models. In the first half, domestic-brand shipments totaled 114 million units, down 6.4%, with an 85.7% market share, while local brands launched 170 new models, a 24.8% decrease, accounting for 91.9% of new model introductions.