Apple’s iPhone sales in China fell by 24% in the first six weeks of 2024 compared to last year, according to research firm Counterpoint.
It is probable because Apple is facing fierce competition in the country from local opponents like oppo, vivo and Huawei
During the same period China’s Huawei saw its sales jump by 64% in its home market, the report says.
Aside from a resurgence of Huawei sales at the flagship Chinese phone market, Apple was also “squeezed in the middle on aggressive pricing from the likes of Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi,” Counterpoint Research’s Mengmeng Zhang wrote.
China is one of Apple’s biggest markets, saw an overall smartphone sales shrink by 7% in the same period, the aforementioned report said.
Huawei has struggled for years due to US sanctions on Chinese products amid the political friction between the two major superpowers. But, its sales have surged after releasing its Mate 60 series of 5G smartphones in August.
It came to be a major surprise as Huawei was cut off from key chips and technology required for 5G mobile internet, stumping production and innovation.
Honor, which is the smartphone brand that spun off from Huawei and used for western markets, in place of Huawei. In 2020 it was the only other top-five brand to see sales increase in China during the period, according to the report.
Sales of Vivo, Xiaomi and Oppo also fell in the first six weeks of the year, Counterpoint said. Weak start for tech companies in China this year.
It’s also reported also said Apple‘s share of the Chinese smartphone has market dropped to 15.7% from 19% last year, putting it in fourth place as it fell from the number two spot. A major decrease for the tech giant.
Meanwhile, Huawei rose to second place as its market share grew to 16.5% from 9.4% a year earlier.
Despite its sales falling by 15% compared to last year, Vivo also remained China’s top-selling smartphone maker according to Counterpoint.
What has Apple done?
Apple has officially started offering discounts on its official sites in China last month before subsidising certain iPhone models through its flagship stores on Alibaba’s marketplace platform Tmall last week.
A slowdown in demand in China could affect Apple’s revenue which already disappointed investors when the firm released its earnings last month. A big loss for the company.
Apple said sales in China were $20.82bn in the last three months of 2023, down from $23.9bn in the previous year.
Apple shares fell by 2.8% in New York trade on Tuesday.
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