(Yicai Global) Dec. 1 -- The strong performance of the iPhone 14 series handed Apple a record 25 percent share of the Chinese smartphone market in October, according to a new report.

The high-performance iPhone 14 Pro Max was the best-selling phone in China that month, the first full month after its release, the report released by US market research agency Counterpoint Research showed today. The iPhone 14 Pro was the second best-seller.

China’s smartphone sales sank 15 percent in October from a year earlier, with Apple’s sales dipping 4 percent on the year, but surging 21 percent on September, Counterpoint noted, without giving specific figures.

With the iPhone 14 series, consumer demand has shifted to the Pro model because of significant design and specification differences between the Pro and the regular version. Buyers are willing to pay a premium for the Pro version and put up with longer delivery times to get their hands on the high-end version, senior analyst Varun Mishra said.

After the US imposed a ban on telecoms equipment giant Huawei Technologies two years ago, Apple’s share of the Chinese market has hit new highs, leading the high-end mobile phone market by a large margin, Counterpoint said.

China’s smartphone shipments fell 11 percent to 70 million units in the third quarter from a year earlier, but rose about 4 percent from the second quarter, according to data earlier market researcher Canalys released earlier. The top five makers were Vivo, Oppo, Honor, Apple, and Xiaomi.

Editor: Futura Costaglione