China's new mobile phone market pattern: Apple and Huawei compete for upgrades
On the track of China's smartphone market, a new battle is kicking off. As the two camps that have long dominated the country, Apple and Huawei have once again ushered in a direct head-to-head confrontation. The ignition of this round of war comes from the outstanding performance of Huawei's latest flagship model, the Mate 60 series, in the domestic market.
Apple is facing challenges in China
For Apple, the Chinese market is undoubtedly an important part of its global strategic map. Recent data shows that the Cupertino-based tech giant is facing unprecedented challenges in this land. According to market research statistics, in the first six weeks of 2023, iPhone sales in China fell by 24% year-on-year, and the market share also fell to 15.7%, falling from the previous position to fourth in the ranking.
The root of all this is closely related to the hot sales of Huawei's new generation flagship product, the Mate 60 series, in the domestic market. Bank of America Merrill Lynch pointed out that if Huawei can continue to expand the supply of its self-developed Kirin 9000 chips, then the Mate series of mobile phones is expected to help Huawei regain more market share, which will certainly bring downside risks to iPhone sales in the Asia-Pacific region.
Huawei regrouped
In the face of a strong counterattack from its old rival, Huawei is clearly ready to deal with it. Recently, the Chinese technology giant announced a major personnel adjustment decision: Yu Chengdong, managing director and CEO of the terminal BG (business group), will step down as CEO and take up the newly created position of chairman of the terminal BG.
Some people believe that this personnel change reflects Huawei's re-planning of its future development strategy. At past press conferences, Yu Chengdong has confidently uttered the slogan "far ahead" on several occasions, but at a recent product launch event, he seemed to refrain from using this former "mantra". This may be Huawei's internal statement, hoping that Yu Chengdong will keep a low profile when speaking to better cope with the current grim situation.
A new round of competition is heating up
Since the first quarter of 2021, due to the impact of sanctions imposed by the U.S. government, Huawei's mobile phone shipments have fallen out of the top five in the world, and it has not returned to the center of the stage for more than 900 days. That has now been reversed. According to the latest report from IDC, Huawei's mobile phone shipments accounted for 13.9% of the market share in the fourth quarter of 2023, regaining its place among the top five.
IDC predicts that with Huawei's re-emergence, the competition pattern in the domestic mobile phone market will become more fierce in 2024. In this new round of technology war, the two camps of Apple and Huawei will undoubtedly become the focus again. We'll see what this pinnacle showdown in the smartphone space will bring.