A historic scene: iPhone's market share in China fell out of the top five

Observer.com

2024-05-07 11:13Posted on the official account of Shanghai Observer.com

Text/Observer.com Zhou Yi, edited by Zhang Guangkai

On May 6, market research agency TechInsights released its latest data. In the first quarter of 2024, China's smartphone shipments were 63.3 million units, up 1% year-on-year. It ended an 11-quarter losing streak. In the ranking of top manufacturers, Apple fell out of the top five with a market share of 13.7%, joining the ranks of "others". During the same period, Huawei's shipments increased by 118.8% year-on-year, ranking third in market share.

Apple is no longer in the top five. According to the data, during the statistical period, the market share of China's four major local manufacturers was comparable: OPPO/OnePlus, with a market share of 17.1%, led the Chinese smartphone market, and Honor, Huawei and vivo, ranked second to fourth, with market shares of 16.7%, 16.6% and 16.1% respectively. In addition, Xiaomi is in fifth place with a market share of 15.0%.

图源TechInsights

"Some consumers there [in China] no longer see Apple's flagship product as the most technologically advanced product. ”

In a report on May 3, the American media outlet The Wall Street Journal wrote in a commentary.

In the eyes of some media, Apple is losing its top appeal in the Chinese market. According to Apple's previously disclosed results, Apple's global sales in the first quarter of this year fell by 4.3% year-on-year. One important reason is that Apple has suffered setbacks in its own strategic center - Greater China. In this market, Apple's sales for the quarter were $16.4 billion, down 8%.

There is a view that products such as iPhones are "lagging behind" in the introduction of artificial intelligence. According to the article, brands such as Huawei, vivo, Xiaomi and Honor have provided built-in AI functions for their products - according to research firm Canalys, South Korea's Samsung has also entered the "artificial intelligence phone" market - but the iPhone has not made any moves so far.

Reviews believe that the lack of significant advances in hardware and performance is an important reason for Chinese consumers not to buy new iPhones. Some users, who have extended the life of their old iPhones, no longer buy new Apple products. At the same time, despite US sanctions, brands such as Huawei have launched phones with advanced features, and some users have switched to domestic phones.

Screenshot of the report

Consumers are still voting with their feet.

For example, the article cites consumers as saying that Huawei has outperformed Apple in terms of camera, battery life, and phone signal. Because of the U.S. crackdown on Huawei, Huawei phones are blocked from using the latest Google Android components. This has led to Huawei phones not being able to access Google Maps when traveling overseas, which has forced some users to consider "switching to an iPhone", but in fact, some apps can solve this problem.

"There's no reason for me to switch to an iPhone. A consumer said in an interview.

Fierce market competition is making Apple feel weak.

The article cites the report that in China's high-end smartphone market, the competition from local brands is becoming increasingly fierce, which has led to the overall poor performance of the iPhone 15 series. Although the iPhone 15 Pro Max continues to dominate the highest-end segment. But Huawei, which was sanctioned by the United States, made a comeback with its self-developed chips. In April of this year, Huawei launched a new model, the Pura 70 series, equipped with a more powerful chip than before.

Judging from the market performance, sanctions cannot prevent Chinese companies from making market progress. According to market research firm TechInsights, in the first quarter of 2024, China shipped 63.3 million smartphones. Among them, Huawei's shipments were 10.5 million units. In addition, OPPO shipped 10.7 million units in the first quarter, and Honor shipped 10.6 million units.

Apple, which has always shied away from discounts, is trying to salvage its decline. Apple launched a discount campaign in January this year, offering users discounts ranging from 50 yuan to 800 yuan. However, judging from the results, this has not stopped the strong momentum of local Chinese companies. According to the report, most of Apple's recently launched mobile phone models are priced at more than $600 (about 4,330 yuan). But in contrast, local Chinese manufacturers have a wider range of product lines, making it easier to attract consumers.

Due to differences in caliber, data, etc., the reports of different institutions are different from each other, but they all show the decline of Apple's mobile phone.

On April 25, the latest quarterly mobile phone tracking report released by the International Data Corporation (IDC) showed that in the first quarter of 2024, China's smartphone market shipped about 69.26 million units, a year-on-year increase of 6.5%. Among them, Honor's market share in China in the first quarter was 17.1%, a year-on-year increase of 13.2%, ranking first, and Huawei has recovered rapidly since its return at the end of August last year, and has tied for the first place in the Chinese market in the first quarter of this year, with a year-on-year increase of more than 100%. OPPO and Apple are tied for third place.

Source: IDC

According to the latest report released by Canalys on April 26, in the first quarter of 2024, Apple fell the most among the top five manufacturers, ranking fifth with 10 million units shipped, down 25% year-on-year.

Photo source: Canalys

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