American tech giant Apple reported experienced a surge in iPhone sales in China during the second quarter of this year.

Data published by Shanghai-based research firm CINNO revealed that the company had an unprecedented 225 percent increase in sales volume during the quarter, likely a result of the spike in demand for its devices following the months of lockdowns and movement restrictions during the first quarter.

China was the first country to implement major movement restrictions during the first few months of the year after the coronavirus pandemic had spread throughout its major cities. During that time, iPhone sales plummeted to new lows as the company had been forced to close its stores. Online sales had managed to somewhat cushion the blow.

As China's economy slowly reopened, Apple started to offer significant price cuts to boost sales of its products in one of its largest markets. CINNO reported that China sold more than 13 million iPhones in the country for its latest quarter ending in June. This represented a 4 million unit increase from its previous quarter. The data has been seen as a good sign of the gradual recovery of China's smartphone market, which in turn indicates the wider recovery of the country's economy.

CINNO's report aligned with new data published by research firm Counterpoint Research, which revealed that Apple had become the fastest-growing smartphone brand in the country during this year's second quarter. In its report, Counterpoint noted that Apple had experienced an impressive 32 percent year-on-year growth in China, mainly due to the popularity of its latest iPhone model and its massive discounts. Apart from its flagship iPhone 11 smartphone, the company's new iPhone SE model also became one of the three best selling Apple models in the country.

Counterpoint added that Apple was the fourth-largest smartphone brand in the country during the second quarter. It was ahead of domestic brands such as Xiaomi Corp and behind the country's Android leaders, Huawei, Oppo, and Vivo.

Apple earlier reported first-quarter sales of about $9.46 billion in China, or about a $1 billion decline from its sales for the same period in the previous year. The company's iPhone sales account for about 50 percent of its total sales. 

Apple is expected to publish its latest quarterly financial results today, Friday. Analysts expect the company to report numbers close to the figures published by both CINNO and Counterpoint.