A fresh Chinese weekly sales list shows a smartphone market that is both familiar and changing. Apple still appears to own the very top of the chart, but Huawei is again the domestic brand drawing the most attention. That combination says a lot about the current China phone market: the iPhone remains powerful, yet local competition is no longer sitting quietly behind it.
The reported list for week 23 of 2026 puts the iPhone 17 family in the first three positions. That is not surprising. Apple launch cycles and Pro Max demand have consistently shaped premium phone sales. What matters more is what happens below the top three, where Huawei appears to have several models creating a strong local counterweight.
Huawei Enjoy 90 Pro Max is the key name in the report. It is described as the top domestic model on the list, with Huawei nova 16 and Mate 80 also inside the top ten. That spread matters because it is not one isolated flagship spike. It suggests Huawei has demand across price bands and product families.
CNMO reported the RD Observation weekly TOP30 list on June 12, noting that iPhone 17 Pro Max, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 led overall, while Huawei Enjoy 90 Pro Max, Huawei nova 16, and Huawei Mate 80 gave Huawei the strongest domestic-brand showing near the top.
The Enjoy 90 Pro Max details also explain why the phone can draw attention. The report lists a Kirin 8000 chip, HarmonyOS 6.0, a 6.84-inch 1.5K OLED display with 120Hz refresh rate and 2160Hz PWM dimming, an 8500mAh battery, 40W wired charging, a 50MP RYYB main camera, and an 8MP front camera. It is a battery-first mainstream package.
Battery capacity has become a simple, visible way for Chinese brands to pressure rivals. Our coverage of Redmi leaks pushing faster charging and stronger zoom showed the same pattern from another brand. The phone market is not only about chip speed anymore; endurance and camera reach are moving units.
Weekly rankings can be noisy, and they should not be treated like a full-quarter market share report. Still, they are useful because they reveal which models have momentum in retail channels right now. A phone that climbs into a weekly top ten usually has a working mix of price, distribution, brand trust, and practical appeal. In Huaweis case, the spread across Enjoy, nova, and Mate suggests the company is not relying on only one hero product.
The list also says vivo, OPPO, Xiaomi, and Honor each placed a device inside the top ten, including Honor X70, vivo S60, OPPO Reno16, and Redmi K90. That gives the chart a broader message: China remains one of the most competitive phone markets in the world, and no single Android vendor can coast.
For Apple, the result is still strong. Holding the top three positions in a market with aggressive local alternatives is no small achievement. For Huawei, the more interesting story is breadth. If it can place mainstream, nova, and Mate devices near the top at the same time, the company has rebuilt a domestic phone ladder that rivals have to treat seriously.
