New Delhi, April 19 -- China's vast smartphone market, long a bellwether for global consumer tech demand, stumbled at the start of 2026. Yet in a striking twist, Apple surged ahead, defying industry headwinds that have rattled competitors and reshaped pricing strategies across the sector.

Shipments in China declined 4% in Q1 2026, according to Counterpoint Research, as rising component costs and supply chain disruptions weighed heavily on manufacturers. The decline underscores a broader slowdown gripping the global smartphone industry, where demand is cooling even as production costs climb.

At the center of the disruption is a growing shortage of memory chips, driven in part by surging demand from artificial intelligence infrastructure....