Apple's iPhone suffered a Waterloo in China
At the beginning of the new year of 2024, tech giant Apple has suffered a heavy blow. In China, the world's second-largest smartphone market, Apple's iPhone sales plummeted 24 percent, falling to fourth place, and the outlook is worrying. This impact not only comes from the strong counterattack of domestic mobile phone brands, but also stems from Apple's own product strategy mistakes.
The Huawei Mate 60 series is back
After several years of slump, Huawei will finally regain its dominant demeanor in 2023. With the excellent performance of the Mate 60 series, Huawei's sales in the first six weeks of 2024 have surged by 64% year-on-year, and its market share has returned to 17%, which is only 1 percentage point worse than the first place vivo.
The biggest highlight of the Huawei Mate 60 series is that it is equipped with a self-developed Kirin 9000S chip. This flagship chip based on the 7nm process not only has strong performance, but also can compete with international giants such as Qualcomm and Apple. Combined with Huawei's innovative technologies in the fields of imaging and communications, the Mate 60 series brings consumers an unprecedented and ultimate experience.
Industry insiders pointed out that the outstanding performance of Huawei Mate 60 is the concentrated counterattack of domestic brands in the high-end market. With cost-effective advantages and localized marketing, domestic flagship models are gradually eating into Apple's high-end market share in China.
iPhone 15系列在华销量大跌
In stark contrast to Huawei's rise is the sluggish performance of Apple's iPhone 15 series in China. In the first six weeks of 2024, iPhone sales in China plummeted by 24% year-on-year, and its market share fell to 15.7% from 19% in the same period last year.
People believe that the main reason for the decline in sales of the iPhone 15 series is the lack of sufficient innovation highlights. Although Apple has improved the hardware specifications such as the A17 processor and camera module, compared with the previous generation of products, the iPhone 15 series has not brought a revolutionary experience upgrade, and it is difficult to stimulate consumers' desire to change phones.
On the other hand, the pricing strategy of the iPhone 15 series has also been criticized. Under the fierce competition of domestic models, the high price of the iPhone 15 seems to be a bit out of reality. In order to stimulate sales, Apple had to make significant concessions on major e-commerce platforms, with discounts of up to $180.
Apple's future in China is worrying
In the face of a strong counterattack by domestic brands, concerns about Apple's prospects in China are growing day by day. Goldman Sachs, a well-known investment bank, even removed Apple from its "best buy list" on the grounds that Apple's stock was underperforming and demand for its main products was weak.
The importance of the iPhone to Apple cannot be overstated. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, iPhone revenue reached $43.8 billion, accounting for nearly half of Apple's total revenue. If the performance of the iPhone in China, a key market, remains sluggish, Apple's overall performance will be severely dragged down.
The division believes that Apple is not without room for manoeuvre. Apple's layout in the field of artificial intelligence may bring new growth momentum to it. As long as Apple can achieve an innovative breakthrough in the next iPhone and regain its competitiveness in the Chinese market, it still has a chance to reverse the decline.