China's mobile phone shipments dip 6% in August 2025, but 5G models continue to rise
According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), mobile phone shipments in China reached 22.603 million units in August 2025, marking a 6.0% year-over-year decline.
Despite the overall drop, 5G smartphones accounted for 19.992 million units, a 1.2% increase compared to the same period last year. This means 5G devices made up 88.4% of all mobile phone shipments in August.
From January to August 2025, total mobile phone shipments in China stood at 192 million units, down 1.7% year-over-year. Of these, 163 million were 5G phones, representing 85.1% of the total and a 1.0% decline from the previous year.
The data reflects a maturing market where 5G adoption continues to grow, even as overall demand softens.
The report was issued by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a government-affiliated research institute under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. CAICT regularly publishes data and analysis on China's telecom and digital industries.
