* Huawei was only major brand with sales growth over

month-long event, Counterpoint says

* Apple ( AAPL ) ranked second after discounts on iPhone 17 Pro

series Brands limited incentives amid soaring global memory chip

prices

* Counterpoint projects China smartphone shipments to post

double-digit decline this year

By Che Pan and Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING, July 7 (Reuters) - Smartphone sales in China fell

13% year-on-year during the month-long 618 shopping festival, as

brands raised prices to offset higher memory costs, according to

data from Counterpoint Research.

Sales declined from May 26 to June 21, with all major

Chinese brands except Huawei posting double-digit drops as fewer

promotions compared to last year weighed on demand. Honor sales

dropped 33%, while Xiaomi's ( XIACF ) fell 24%.

Higher memory prices amid a rapid build-out of AI

infrastructure have pushed up handset costs this year, leaving

brands with less room to offer steep discounts during the 618

festival, seen as a barometer for the country's booming

e-commerce sector.

"Some older and newer models from Chinese smartphone brands

were priced higher than comparable models a year earlier, while

discounts during this year's 618 festival were generally less

aggressive, both in terms of the size of price cuts and the

range of products covered," said Ivan Lam, senior analyst at

Counterpoint Research.

"Apple's ( AAPL ) prices were broadly unchanged, but its discounts

were also smaller."

Huawei Technologies led the market with a 21%

share, and was the only major brand to record year-on-year

growth during the 618 period, with sales rising 19%.

Its Enjoy 90 Pro Max was its best-selling model. The Mate 80

also performed well, supported by promotions.

Apple's ( AAPL ) sales fell 9% from a year earlier, although

the U.S. tech giant climbed to the No. 2 spot after rolling out

incentives about a month ahead of June 18.

The discounts offered savings of up to 2,000 yuan ($295) on

the iPhone 17 Pro series through a mix of official price cuts,

platform subsidies and trade-in deals.

Still, Apple's ( AAPL ) sales remained lower than a year earlier,

partly because promotions for the iPhone 16 series were more

aggressive during the same period last year.

The 618 festival, which began as a one-day event marking

JD.com's ( JD ) founding on June 18, 1998, has since grown into a

month-long sales campaign, with major e-commerce platforms

competing for consumer spending.

In recent years, however, China's biggest shopping festivals

have struggled to generate their former buzz, as extended

discount periods and weak consumer sentiment have curbed

appetite for non-essential spending, even at reduced prices.

Counterpoint said the 618 festival helped smartphone sales

recover in June from the previous month. But it added that the

market was likely to enter a seasonal slowdown afterward and

post a double-digit decline in shipments for the year.

($1 = 6.7886 Chinese yuan)