Huawei Technologies' smartphone sales in China surpassed Apple's in August for the first time in 46 months, according to a new report from research firm CINNO, thanks to Huawei's successful return to the market with 5G phones last year.
Is the iPhone losing its position in China? Photo: SMCP
The report is in line with findings from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT), a government think tank, which showed that smartphone imports, including Apple's iPhones, fell 12.7 percent year-on-year. Total imports were just 1.87 million units in August, down from 2.14 million units last year. Meanwhile, sales of domestic brands rose 26.7 percent to 24.05 million units in the same period.
CINNO did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
The competition between Huawei and Apple in the world's largest smartphone market is getting fiercer. Shenzhen-based Huawei has seen a strong revival in its smartphone business, while Apple is struggling in the Chinese market.
Strong demand for Huawei’s premium phones like the Mate, Pura, and foldable phones like the Mate XT helped boost the company’s average selling price and revenue in the second quarter of this year, according to TechInsights. China remains Huawei’s core market, accounting for 89% of the company’s total global smartphone sales.
China’s smartphone market has been gradually gaining momentum this year as domestic consumers increasingly favor domestic brands. Huawei led the way with a 17.5% market share in the first half of the year, as total domestic smartphone shipments topped 140 million units, up 7.7% year-on-year, according to data from IDC.
Huawei’s Mate XT tri-fold smartphone made headlines last month when it debuted on the same day as Apple’s iPhone 16 series in nearly 60 countries. Before the launch of the new iPhones, Apple had dropped out of the top five smartphone vendors in China in the second quarter, with its market share in mainland China falling below 14%, according to IDC.
Customers inside an Apple store in Shanghai as the iPhone 16 series is officially released in nearly 60 countries on September 20, 2024. Photo: Bloomberg
Apple's revenue in the Greater China, Hong Kong and Taiwan region – reached $14.73 billion in the June quarter, down 6.5% year-over-year.
Kuo Ming-chi, an analyst who tracks Apple at TF International Securities, said that Apple's iPhone assembly orders remained largely unchanged from previous forecasts. He also shared that suppliers were asked to continue production of two iPhone 16 Pro models during China's National Day holiday, indicating that demand for the Pro models remained in line with expectations.
While Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed confidence in the company’s long-term prospects in China, consumer enthusiasm for the iPhone 16 has waned in the country. This is largely due to the fact that Apple’s on-device artificial intelligence (AI) system, Apple Intelligence, will not support Chinese until next year. In addition, generative AI systems are tightly controlled in China.
Analyst Kuo also predicts that the next focus will be on the impact on demand in the US market after Apple Intelligence officially launches in late October. He maintains his previous estimate of iPhone 16 mass production output at around 88 to 89 million units in the fourth quarter.
Dung Phan (According to SCMP)
Source: https://www.congluan.vn/doanh-so-huawei-tai-trung-quoc-da-danh-bai-apple-lan-dau-tien-sau-46-thang-post316423.html
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