Apple captured a quarter of all smartphone sales in China during October, marking its strongest performance in the market as the iPhone 17 lineup drove sales up 37 percent year over year, according to Counterpoint Research. The base iPhone 17 model led the momentum compared with the previous generation, while the Pro variants also demonstrated strong demand in what researchers described as the best December quarter start for the company since peaking in 2021.
The research firm made no mention of the iPhone Air in its latest market analysis, raising questions about the ultra-slim device's commercial trajectory after earlier data showed it capturing just 3 percent of the company's sales mix. Meanwhile, development of a second-generation Air model has been pushed back to spring 2027, reportedly to incorporate advanced chip technology using a 2-nanometer manufacturing process with integrated wafer-level packaging.
The Cupertino company initially projected the Air would represent 6 to 8 percent of annual iPhone volume, positioning the device as an experimental platform rather than a mainstream seller.
The research firm made no mention of the iPhone Air in its latest market analysis, raising questions about the ultra-slim device's commercial trajectory after earlier data showed it capturing just 3 percent of the company's sales mix. Meanwhile, development of a second-generation Air model has been pushed back to spring 2027, reportedly to incorporate advanced chip technology using a 2-nanometer manufacturing process with integrated wafer-level packaging.
The Cupertino company initially projected the Air would represent 6 to 8 percent of annual iPhone volume, positioning the device as an experimental platform rather than a mainstream seller.
