During the three months ended January 2016, the growth of Apple's iOS smartphones slowed in Chinese urban areas; however, it was still the most popular smartphone brand with 25% market share.

According to the latest statistics released by smartphone market research firm Kantar Worldpanel, Apple's growth slowdown may be attributed to Chinese consumers' waiting for the promotional activities during the Chinese New Year at the beginning of February.

In spite of the growth slowdown, which is the slowest since the end of 2014, Apple was still the most popular smartphone brand in Chinese cities and its market share was 25%. Its most popular models were iPhone 6s, iPhone 6s Plus, and iPhone 6.

Meanwhile, the report stated that Huawei was the second popular brand in Chinese cities with 24.3% market share; and Xiaomi, whose market share decreased by 10.2 percentage points year-on-year, ranked third.

In addition, Huawei showed outstanding performance in the European market and it was the second most popular Android smartphone brand in Europe. Its market share in Europe increased from 5% in the same period of last year to 14%. Huawei plans to launch its new flagship smartphone product on April 6, 2016.