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Apple
Tech

Apple’s China sales plunge by a quarter in first 6 weeks as resurgent Huawei steals the show, according to Counterpoint

  • Overall smartphone sales fell 7 per cent year on year in China in the first six weeks of 2024
  • Huawei was the biggest winner in the period, with the Shenzhen-based giant achieving a 64 per cent jump in sales

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Apple’s China sales plunge by a quarter in first six weeks: Counterpoint. Photo: Reuters
Kelly Le

Apple’s iPhone sales in China fell by nearly a quarter in the first six weeks of 2024 year on year, in the latest sign that the US smartphone giant is losing more ground in the country to a resurgent Huawei Technologies, according to data from Counterpoint Research.

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Overall smartphone sales fell 7 per cent year on year in the first six weeks of 2024, with Chinese brands Oppo and Vivo experiencing sales declines of 29 per cent and 15 per cent respectively, according to Counterpoint.

Apple’s iPhone sales fell 24 per cent over the period, giving it 15.7 per cent of the Chinese market and ranking the US firm fourth after Vivo, Huawei, and Honor. Counterpoint said “fierce competition” and an “unusually high sales base in January 2023” were the main reasons behind the decline in iPhone sales.

Huawei was the biggest winner in the period, with the Shenzhen-based giant achieving a 64 per cent jump in sales, giving it 16.5 per cent of the market. Honor, the smartphone brand spun off from Huawei in 2020, saw a 2 per cent increase in sales, giving it 16.3 per cent of the China market.

Counterpoint said Huawei benefited from strong demand for its flagship 5G-capable Mate 60 series, launched late last year with a powerful home-grown chip, the Kirin 9000S. Chinese netizens have hailed the smartphone as symbolic of China’s ability to defy tough US sanctions.
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