Apple (AAPL) was dethroned as China’s leading smartphone seller in 2024, with local competitors Vivo and Huawei overtaking the iPhone maker after its yearly shipments in the country plummeted 17%, statistics from research firm Canalys said on Thursday.
According to the data, Apple experienced its to the data, Apple’s largest yearly sales in China entailed shrinkage in all four quarters, including a 25% reduction i
This represents Apple’s worst annual result in China,” Canalys analyst Toby Zhu said.
“Apple’s premium market position faces multiple challenges: Huawei’s continuous flagship releases, the proliferation of domestic foldable phones in high-price segments, and Android brands like Xiaomi and Vivo building consumer loyalty through technological innovations,” he said.
(Reporting by Liam Mo and Brenda Goh; Editing by Kim Coghill and Jamie Freed)
Annual shipments of smartphones in China in 2024 climbed 4% year-on-year to 285 million units.
Apple had previously enjoyed four years of constant growth following U.S. sanctions that placed Huawei on an entity list in 2019, barring its access to American technology.
However, Huawei has significantly returned to the luxury segment since August 2023, when it debuted new phones using locally-produced chipsets. The Chinese corporation claimed a 24% shipment gain in the fourth quarter.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The iPhone maker has used rare discounts to promote sales. From Jan. 4 to 7, the business launched a four-day deal in China, offering up to 500 yuan ($68.50) in price savings on its iPhone 16 models through its official outlets.
Major Chinese e-commerce sites have followed suit with their specials. Alibaba’s Tmall marketplace announced discounts of up to 1,000 yuan ($137) on the latest iPhone 16 series devices.
Among the top five vendors, largely budget-focused Xiaomi saw the biggest rise with a 29% increase in fourth-quarter shipments, while Oppo and Vivo recorded boosts of 18% and 14%, respectively, according to Canalys data.
The reduction also speaks to how issues such as the absence of artificial intelligence capabilities in the current iPhones offered in China, where ChatGPT is unavailable, are cutting into Apple’s competitiveness.
For the full year, affordable smartphone maker Vivo won a 17% market share in China, followed by premium rival Huawei with 16% and Apple with 15%, indicating the mounting sales pressure it confronts from domestic makers in one of its biggest worldwide markets.
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