iPhone in China: Apple has clearly fallen to third place

Apple’s sales in China continue to weaken, according to a new analyst report. as per new Counterpoint Research Number For the fourth quarter of 2024, which was only estimated or collected through surveys due to the lack of official data from Apple, the iPhone maker only ranked third in the Middle Kingdom (17.1 percent market share). The market leader now is Huawei (18.1 percent), followed by Xiaomi (17.2 percent) – both homegrown brands.

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The entire year 2024 also did not go well for Apple.

Things looked completely different in the fourth quarter of 2023: At that time, Apple was leading with 20.2 percent market share, followed by Xiaomi (16 percent) and Huawei (15.2 percent). Samsung plays in China usually no roleiPhone sales declined overall by 18.2 percent. The crisis for Apple phones in China does not come from a shrinking market. According to Counterpoint, total smartphone sales grew 1.5 percent compared to the same quarter last year. However, there is still a decline of 1.4 percent in the market in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Looking at 2024 as a whole, Apple hasn’t fared too well. According to Counterpoint, this was only enough for a market share of 15.5 percent, which ranks only fourth. Affordable brand Vivo was able to dominate here (17.8 percent), followed by Huawei (16.3 percent) and Xiaomi (15th). 7 percent). Overall in 2023, Apple was still leading with 17.9 percent market share, followed by Vivo and Oppo. Huawei is currently considered a big winner in the Chinese market as the company scores points with various top models, which apparently also creates a kind of patriotic effect.

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Subsidy on smartphone purchase

The Chinese government is currently doing everything possible to further boost smartphone sales by domestic brands. A nationwide subsidy program was launched in January to boost current low single-digit growth. According to Counterpoint, this is especially likely to happen in the first quarter of 2025. Overall, he is “cautiously optimistic” for the overall market.

Apple is and remains in a special position. Although most iPhones are still produced in China, Apple is still seen as an American brand. The Q4 2024 iPhone 16 models, which are dominating Apple Intelligence for the first time, were unable to score points in the Chinese market as the service has not even been announced there yet. Apple has been forced to look for a local partner for a suitable language model, but so far it has not succeeded.

(B.Sc.)