Robert Triggs/Android Authority
long story short
- Faced with fierce competition and the lack of major upgrades, Apple iPhone sales in China fell sharply in the first six weeks of 2024.
- Apple’s woes coincide with Huawei’s comeback and aggressive pricing by domestic brands like Vivo and Xiaomi.
While Apple has a strong and established position in the United States, the same cannot be said for the company in China. The iPhone 15 maker is reportedly struggling in the world’s largest smartphone market, with sales plunging 24%.
According to independent research firm CounterpointiPhone sales dropped significantly in the first six weeks of 2024 (down 24%). Meanwhile, the broader China mobile market itself shrank 7% during the period. Nonetheless, domestic brands such as vivo and OPPO seem to be able to take the lead by targeting the budget market.
Apple, for its part, did encourage sales in January by offering rare discounts on its online store. Some online resellers have even slashed iPhone prices by $180. Despite this, Apple’s market share eventually fell from 19% to below 16%. The decline has also spread to Apple’s partners, with iPhone assembly partner Hon Hai Precision Industry seeing an 18% drop in sales in the first two months of 2024.
Meanwhile, sales of Huawei, Apple’s main rival in China’s high-end smartphone market, surged 64% during the same period. Huawei’s resurgence has reportedly been driven by the successful launch of its self-developed Mate 60 Pro device. Thanks to the so-called patriotic buying boom, Huawei’s share of the Chinese market soared from 9.4% to 16.5%.
In addition, the aggressive pricing of domestic brands such as OPPO, vivo, and Xiaomi in the mid-range market may further squeeze Apple’s sales. As senior analyst Zhang Mengmeng pointed out in the report, “While the iPhone 15 is a great device, it does not have major upgrades from previous versions, so consumers feel good about keeping the older generation iPhone for the time being.”
While that may be true for some, there are other reasons why people hold on to their iPhones longer. Whether Apple’s woes in China will have ripple effects across the Western world remains to be seen. On the bright side, Apple’s latest earnings report did show some resilience, with strong iPhone sales in the holiday quarter and a return to revenue growth.