图片来源：HECTOR RETAMAL—AFP/GETTY IMAGES
After only one quarter of winning the No. 1 sales volume in the global smartphone market, Apple is back in second place. According to a report by research firm International Data Corporation (IDC), Apple sold 50.1 million units in the first quarter of 2024, down 9.6% year-over-year. The decline in sales has put Apple behind South Korea's Samsung, which sold 60.1 million units.
Where is the tricky market for Apple? Chinese consumers are ditching Apple's latest iPhone in favor of homegrown champions like Xiaomi and Huawei. Nabila Popal, research director of the International Data Corp's global tracking team, told Bloomberg: "Intensified competition in the Chinese market was a big reason for Apple's decline in first-quarter results. ”
Apple currently accounts for 17.3% of the global market share. By comparison, Samsung's market share was 20.8%, and the South Korean company's shipments fell 0.7% year-on-year in the first quarter.
Xiaomi, Transsion and OPPO – three Chinese smartphone makers – round out the top five. Together, the three companies shipped 94.5 million units, with a combined market share of 32.7%. The International Data Corporation estimates that Transsion, an economical brand that has succeeded in emerging markets, shipped 85% more mobile phones in the quarter than a year earlier.
Although the overall smartphone market is recovering from the post-pandemic downturn, Apple's performance has declined. According to the International Data Corporation, smartphone sales rose 7.8% to 289.4 million units. Ryan Reith, group vice president of global mobile and consumer device tracking at International Data Corp., said in a statement: "The smartphone recovery continues to move forward as market optimism for top brands slowly heats up. ”
Problems faced by Apple in the Chinese market
Apple reported that in the quarter ended December 31, 2023, its sales in China, one of the most important markets outside the U.S., fell 13% year-over-year, despite a 6% increase in global sales of the iPhone.
Apple will report its next quarter's earnings report in early May, including sales in China. But independent research reports say the company's downturn will continue into 2024. According to a March report by Counterpoint Research, iPhone sales in China fell 24 percent in the first six weeks of the year compared to the same period last year.
China's smartphone market is shrinking against the backdrop of a general decline in consumer confidence. Counterpoint Research estimated earlier this year that total Chinese phone shipments fell by 7% in the first six weeks of the year.
Chinese consumers have been slower to accept Apple's new iPhone 15, with Apple and third-party resellers offering discounts just a few months after the model's release. Mengmeng Zhang, a senior analyst at Counterpoint, said at the time:
"At the moment, consumers feel that it is also good to continue using the older generation of iPhones. ”
A new round of competition in the Chinese market
However, Apple also faces a more crowded Chinese market.
One of the main competitors is Huawei. According to Counterpoint, in the first six weeks of 2024, the Chinese tech giant's mobile phone sales increased by 64%. Huawei returned to the high-end smartphone market last year with the launch of the Mate 60 Pro, a 5G smartphone equipped with a domestic processor.
Other brands, such as Honor, which was born out of Huawei's decision to spin off its budget smartphone division after U.S. sanctions, are also expanding into more expensive handheld devices to gain market share.
According to the International Data Corporation, Xiaomi is the third-largest seller of smartphones in the world. At the same time, it is entering an area that Apple has given abandon: electric vehicles. Earlier this year, the Chinese smartphone maker unveiled its first electric car, the SU7. The model received 120,000 orders in 36 hours, and Xiaomi warned that the waiting list could be extended to more than half a year. (Fortune Chinese Network)
Translator: Zhong Huiyan-Wang Fang
Fortune magazine launched the "Fortune China Technology 50" list for the first time this year, trying to find these technology companies that were born in China and are influencing the world. Their success lies not only in their technology and products, but also in the spirit of innovation and global vision they represent. We look forward to these Chinese companies making more outstanding achievements in technological innovation and global expansion, and making greater contributions to technological and commercial progress.
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