Apple faces increasingly strong competition in China, particularly from the domestic smartphone manufacturer Huawei.
According to Counterpoint data, iPhone sales fell by more than 19% in the first quarter of 2024, while Huawei smartphone sales during the same period increased by 69.7%. These figures are largely attributed to the launch of the Huawei Mate 60 with a high-quality chip supporting 5G.
Since 2019, the US has imposed sanctions against the Chinese company, blocking access to crucial technologies and almost destroying its smartphone business. Now Huawei has made a comeback and is currently the fourth largest smartphone manufacturer in China (with Apple currently in third place).
"Apple's sales declined during the quarter, as Huawei's return directly impacted the company in the premium segment," said Ivan Lam, Senior Research Analyst at Counterpoint Research. "In addition, demand for replacing Apple has decreased compared to previous years."
Lam adds that the iPhone manufacturer may still see a recovery in China with the release of flagship devices in new colors, the launch of aggressive discounts, and the integration of AI features in smartphones (which are promised to be introduced at WWDC in June).
Considering the overall sales picture of smartphones in China, they increased by 1.5% compared to the first quarter of 2023.
Counterpoint expects that artificial intelligence features integrated into Chinese smartphone manufacturers' devices will stimulate demand for new mobile phones. Xiaomi and Oppo have integrated the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 processor, designed for AI applications, into their latest flagship phones. Meanwhile, Honor has demonstrated in its latest flagship smartphone Magic 6 Pro a feature that allows for controlling a car with eye movements.
Comments (0)
There are no comments for now