Analysis firm Canalys recently published its report on the smartphone market in China for the first quarter of 2024, where Apple was ranked last among the top five brands vying for leadership in Asia's largest economy.
Huawei regained the top spot after 13 quarters, achieving a market share of 17%. The company shipped 11.7 million smartphones, benefiting from the popularity of the Mate and nova series, while OPPO climbed to second place thanks to the excellent performance of the Reno 11 series with 10.9 million units sold. In contrast, HONOR, vivo and Apple all saw their sales decline during the period, taking third, fourth and fifth place respectively.
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HONOR shipped 10.6 million units with a 16% share, a 9% year-on-year increase, while vivo shipped 10.3 million units with a 15% share, a 9% year-on-year decrease. Apple saw the biggest drop among the top five companies, dropping to fifth place from its former first place position of 10 million units and a 15% share, a 25% year-on-year decrease.
Huawei's performance has seen a 70% increase compared to the previous year, after restructuring its phone business due to US sanctions. The Huawei 5G Mate 60 Pro is equipped with a Chinese 7-nanometer chip, customized specifically for the local market, demonstrating advanced capabilities aimed at overcoming US sanctions.
Huawei has since launched its new Pure series of flagship smartphones and is busy developing its own operating system, HarmonyOS, as it was unable to use Google's Android and Google Mobile Services. The continued expansion of the HarmonyOS ecosystem is breaking the two-horse race between Android and iOS in mainland China.
The latest data will hardly please Apple CEO Tim Cook, especially after his recent visit to China to open a new flagship store in Shanghai. During that trip, following a strong quarter in China, Cook announced the expansion of Apple’s research and development center in the same city, highlighting the critical importance of China to the company’s growth strategy. He also attended the China Development Forum in Beijing, where he stressed the country’s “critical” importance to Apple.
See also: Apple: Presents advanced AI open-source models that run on the device
Apple is strengthening its relationship with China, even as it expands its manufacturing operations in Southeast Asia and India. 17% of the company's net sales in the October-December quarter came from the broader Chinese market, making it the top regional buyer in its supply chain. However, Apple faces a significant challenge in reversing the downward trend in iPhone sales in China, with a projected 24% annual decline in 2023, a trend that is expected to intensify through 2024.
Source: macrumors
