BEIJING – Apple’s iPhone sales in China slipped 0.3 per cent in the third quarter of 2024 while rival Huawei posted a 42 per cent surge as competition intensifies in the world’s largest smartphone market.
Apple reached second place with a 15.6 per cent market share, though down from 16.1 per cent a year ago, while Huawei claimed third place with 15.3 per cent, up from 11.1 per cent, data from researcher IDC on Oct 25 showed.
Vivo, which primarily sells budget phones, was the top vendor with a market share of 18.6 per cent.
The contrasting performances follow Huawei’s comeback in 2023 in the premium segment with its Mate 60 series, featuring what analysts said is a domestically produced chip.
The Chinese tech giant further challenged Apple’s position with its latest Pura 70 model released earlier in 2024.
Apple has faced additional headwind in China, including restrictions on iPhone use by some government agencies. The US tech giant has since responded with multiple discount campaigns to boost sales.
The third-quarter performance was partly helped by the new iPhone 16, which went on sale on Sept 20. On the same day, Huawei launched a competing product – a tri-foldable phone.
The new iPhones got off to a strong start in China, with sales 20 per cent higher in the first three weeks since launch compared with the 2023 models, separate data from researcher Counterpoint showed.
“With its annual new product launch, Apple returned to China’s top five market rankings with a 15.6 per cent market share,” IDC said.
“With subsequent increases in market promotions and the launch of Apple Vision Pro, the market demand for the iPhone 16 series is expected to gradually materialise in future.”
Overall, China smartphone sales for the third quarter rose 3.2 per
