For the first time in four years in the second quarter, Apple has dropped out of the top five smartphone sellers in China. Domestic handset makers from China including Huawei have overtaken iPhone in the recent past.
As per the data from International Data Corporation research group the China’s smartphone shipments grew 8.9 per cent year over year to 71.6mn units — a third consecutive quarter of growth as the market recovers from a slump —there was a decline of 3.1 per cent in case of Apple.
The research further elaborated that Apple still has a larger overall market share in China than it did in 2020, at 13.6 per cent today compared with 8.3 per cent in the third quarter of that year.
Further vindicating this data was the rival research group Canalys which also states that local companies now make up the top five sellers in China.
Xiaomi entered the top five as Apple’s market share fell by 2 percentage points, despite its discounting of iPhone models during the quarter.
Xiaomi’s smartphone sales benefited from marketing buzz around the launch of its first electric car, the SU7. Vivo, Oppo and Honor are the other Chinese brands in the top five as per Canalys.
Apple has been really concerned in the recent months about the intensifying competition and a government crackdown on iPhones in China. These concerns has overlooked positive signs such as sustained double-digit growth in its services business, which includes the App Store, Apple Pay and Apple TV+.
Mobile giant Huawei had launched its flagship Mate 60 smartphone series in September last year.
The slump of Apple during the first half of 2024 goes beyond the seasonality and is attributed to the direct competition from Huawei which is the only other major player in the premium segment outside of Apple as per IDC.
The research further added that Apple year on year decline in China has slightly improved. However Huawei may lose steam if they don’t introduce AI features soon — as these are expected to become staple elements of premium devices.
The investors on the other hand are watching for signs of a surge in global iPhone sales. Tim Cook, Chief executive, Apple has been increasingly bullish in public about the potential for artificial intelligence to boost sales into 2025.
In its conference held in June last year Apple had unveiled most of AI features that will power a more intelligent Siri assistant and offer new tools such as photo editing features, custom emoji generation and writing aids.
The new iPhone 16 which is expected to be announced in September will come with new features like free access to ChatGPT and many others.
After a rough start Apple shares are up 17 per cent since the beginning of 2024. The company has reclaimed its position as the most valuable US-listed company from Microsoft and Nvidia.
