Canalys: Apple shipments increased by 40% year-on-year, firmly occupying the top spot in the Chinese market

Jiwei Network news, on January 28, Canalys issued a paper saying that Apple shipments increased by 40% year-on-year, sitting firmly in the top position in the Chinese market.

Canalys analyst Toby Zhu said apple stood out in the fourth quarter, ensuring sufficient supply in the Chinese market against the background of tight global supply. Apple shipped 21.5 million units with the release of the iPhone 13 series, regaining its first laurel title since the first quarter of 2015. OPPO (including OnePlus) continued its mid-to-high-end promotion strategy, ranking second with shipments of 14.3 million units. Honor maintained its third-quarter finish with 14.2 million units shipped in the fourth quarter. Xiaomi's new flagship products increased month-on-month, shipping 13.5 million units, ranking fourth. Vivo was affected by the pace of shipments, ranking fifth with shipments of 13.4 million units.

Apple's share of the Chinese market has reached its historical peak since entering China in 2009, accounting for a quarter of total market shipments. In the fourth quarter of the overall retail market decline, Apple unexpectedly lowered the listing price of new product series, which greatly stimulated the demand for replacement machines. At the same time, the absence of strong competitors in the high-end market also contributed to Apple's record-breaking performance this quarter. This means that the domestic high-end market demand is still strong, and high-end consumers are also less affected by the uncertain economic situation. Apple's success will further accelerate Android manufacturers' continued investment in the high-end market, providing more prominent features and experiences for domestic consumers.

Canalys commented that in the environment of chip shortage, China, as the world's largest smartphone market, has no doubt about the supply priority of manufacturers. The challenge for manufacturers is how to achieve breakthrough innovation in both hardware technology and experience in the mature category of smart phones, so as to accelerate the mid-to-high-end user replacement cycle. Strategically, gaining a place in the high-end market means that it will have more say in the supply chain of innovative technologies and raw materials supply, and even in channel cooperation. It is also predicted that the Chinese market will remain the world's largest high-end market in 2022, contributing 30% of the world's product shipments of more than 500 US dollars;

Canalys analyst Amber Liu said, "In 2021, Android manufacturers have made additional iterations of their high-end production lines, such as OPPO Find X3, Xiaomi 12, vivo X70, Honor Magic 3; in addition, folding screens have become a new track for Android manufacturers to compete with Apple, and there are also differences in the pursuit of folding screen experiences, helping manufacturers attract the attention of high-end early adopters." (Proofreading/Andy)