Apple slipped to fifth place in China’s smartphone market for the first quarter of 2024, according to the latest report from analytics firm Canalys (via MacRumors), marking a significant decline for the tech giant in the largest economy from Asia.
The report reveals that Huawei returned to the top spot after 13 quarters, capturing a 17% market share, thanks to the success of its Mate and nova series.
During this quarter, Huawei shipped 11.7 million smartphones, a remarkable 70% increase from the previous year, according to the report. This resurgence is notable, given the challenges the company has faced due to U.S. sanctions, which led to a major reorganization of its telephony business. Huawei’s 5G Mate 60 Pro, powered by a 7-nanometer processor made in China, has played a key role in the company’s rebound.
It appears Oppo also had a strong performance, rising to second place with a 16% market share after shipping 10.9 million units, largely thanks to the success of its Reno 11 series. and Vivo took third and fourth place with 10.6 million and 10.3 million units shipped, respectively. While Honor saw a nine percent year-over-year increase, Vivo saw a nine percent decline in sales.
The report highlights that Apple’s decline was the most significant among the top five brands, dropping from first to fifth place with 10 million units shipped, representing a 25% year-over-year decline. The decline comes at a difficult time for Apple, despite CEO Tim Cook’s recent trip to China, where he opened a new flagship store in Shanghai and attended the China Development Forum in Beijing.
Apple’s deepening ties with China are part of efforts to increase production in Southeast Asia and India. The greater China region accounted for about 17% of Apple’s net sales from October to December 2023, highlighting its importance to the company’s supply chain. However, Apple faces an uphill battle to reverse declining iPhone sales in China, with a 24% year-over-year decline in 2023 expected to continue into 2024.
Huawei’s continued expansion, driven by its HarmonyOS ecosystem and its new Pure line of flagship smartphones, represents a significant challenge for Apple in a market previously dominated by Android and iOS. As competition intensifies, Apple will need to find new ways to regain a foothold in the Chinese smartphone market.
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