Apple’s iPhone sales in China fell 24% year-on-year in the first six weeks of 2024 as the company faces increasing competition from domestic rivals such as Huawei, according to research firm Counterpoint.
Huawei, the tech giant’s biggest competitor for premium smartphones in China, saw unit sales increase by 64% in the same period, the report said.
That could fuel concerns about slowing demand for the company, whose revenue forecast for the current quarter was $6 billion below Wall Street expectations.
The iPhone maker’s stock fell nearly 3% on Tuesday, and its value has fallen by about 10% since the beginning of the year, underperforming major U.S. tech companies.
According to a report by Counterpoint, Apple’s share of the Chinese smartphone market fell to 15.7%, from second place with 19% in the same period last year to fourth place.
Huawei rose to second place with its market share increasing from 9.4% in the same period last year to 16.5%. According to the report, China’s overall smartphone market has shrunk by 7%.
Mengmeng Zhang, senior analyst at Counterpoint, said Apple “faces tough competition at the high end from a resurgent Huawei, while being squeezed in the middle by aggressive pricing from the likes of OPPO, Vivo, and Xiaomi.” “There is,” he said.
Last week, Apple began offering subsidies of up to 1,300 yuan ($180.68) on some iPhone models through its flagship store on Tmall, Alibaba’s main marketplace platform.
The company already offered iPhone discounts of up to 500 yuan on its official website last month.
Huawei has struggled for years due to U.S. restrictions on exports of key components to the company, but sales of its high-end smartphones have rebounded since launching the Mate 60 series in August.
Honor, the smartphone brand spun off from Huawei in 2020, was the only other top five brand to see a 2% increase in unit sales in the first six weeks of this year. Chinese brands Vivo, Xiaomi and Oppo fell 15%, 7% and 29% respectively.
