iPhone maker Apple is facing challenging conditions in China smartphone market, according to analysts at Canalys and IDC.
In Q2 2024, Apple ranked sixth with a smartphone market share of 14 percent in China, a decrease of 2 percent from the second quarter of the previous year, Canalys said earlier.
IDC said today Apple saw a 3.1 percent decline in China, whereas the overall Google Android market grew 11.1 percent. Apple lost business in China despite price promotions to improve the iPhone’s demand among Chinese fans.
Huawei is the smartphone market leader in China during the first half 2024. The growth of Huawei is significant because the technology leader is facing sanctions from the US-based technology companies.
Vivo (18.5 percent share), Huawei (18.1 percent), Oppo (15.7 percent), Honor (14.5 percent), and Xiaomi (14 percent) are the top selling smartphone brands in China in Q2 2024, according to IDC report.
The Chinese OEMs, particularly vivo, Huawei, and Xiaomi, with large double-digit growth, were the biggest contributors to the increased momentum in the second quarter. This led to pushing Apple out of the Top 5 into 6th position.
Huawei is further closing the gap with Apple in the >US$600 segment.
The premiumization trend is happening in China as consumers tend to use their devices for longer time. That drove the >US$600 shipments share to nearly 26 percent in 2Q24 from around 23 percent in the same period last year, said Jacob Zhu, Research Analyst for Client Devices at IDC Asia Pacific.
China’s smartphone shipments grew by 8.9 percent to 71.6 million units in the second quarter of 2024 (2Q24). This marks the third consecutive quarter of growth, bringing total shipments in the first half of 2024 to 140.8 million units and reflecting a 7.7 percent increase. The recovery was fueled by pent-up replacement needs and a low comparison base year.
Chinese Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), particularly Vivo, Huawei, and Xiaomi, saw double-digit growth and were the main contributors to the increased momentum in the second quarter.
Vivo climbed to the top spot in 2Q24 from the fifth place in the last quarter, mainly driven by products that were well-received in the low- to mid-range segment.
Baburajan Kizhakedath
