iPhone 16 with Chinese language flag
Apple iPhone gross sales in China have been reported on the finish of 2024, with a big drop in gross sales leaving a useless warmth with homegrown Xiaomi.
The iPhone 16 has struggled in China since launch, however there’s hope that vacation gross sales will enhance its place within the vital nation. Hope appeared misplaced.
In response to Counterpoint, Apple’s place in China weakened within the fourth quarter of 2024. In a year-over-year comparability of the market, Apple noticed its gross sales fall 18.2% in comparison with with This autumn 2023.
The general market share within the nation for Apple stays at 17.1%, leaving Apple in third place behind Huawei (18.1%) and behind Xiaomi (17.2%). Each rival corporations noticed development, with Huawei rising its gross sales by 15.5% year-on-year.
Apple’s place is a big drop from This autumn 2023, when it had a 20.2% market share and topped the Chinese language smartphone market.
Smartphone model market share in China This autumn 2023 and This autumn 2024 – Picture Credit score: Counterpoint
The decline in Apple’s place is healthier than market share. Your entire Chinese language cell phone market has declined yearly by 3.2%, which is just 1 / 4 to do in 2024.
Counterpoint additionally launched annual market share figures for the Chinese language smartphone market, which can also be excellent news for Apple. In 2023, it can have a majority of 17.9%, however Apple will drop to fifteen.5% in 2024.
Apple has endured a 12.6% lower in gross sales for 2024 over 2023 numbers, which has lowered it to fourth place within the general market. Vivo leads with 17.8%, with Huawei at 16.3% and Xiaomi at 15.7%.
Analysts count on China’s cell phone market to proceed to develop in 2025. This might be helped partly by a cell phone subsidy program introduced in January, which is able to assist enhance gross sales.
It isn’t clear the place the Counterpoint Market Pluse Service will get its knowledge, so its precise accuracy is unknown. Nevertheless, it appears to be in step with different reviews on the topic.
Though Apple gives info and an general determine for iPhone gross sales in its quarterly reviews, it doesn’t present particular particulars. For instance, we see Apple’s income from China for the quarter, however not a lot of it from iPhone gross sales.
In need of Apple offering correct monetary particulars, reviews like these from Counterpoint and different analysts are the one actual solution to see how Apple is doing in China.
The unhealthy information continues
Counterpoint’s report is the newest to say that Apple is struggling in China proper now. Nevertheless, not each information story within the nation is painful.
In October, an IDC report discovered that Apple returned to a listing of the highest 5 cell phone producers in China for Q3 2024, a lower of 0.3% from the identical interval final yr. It is usually stated that the iPhone 16 noticed a 20% soar in gross sales in China over its predecessor, the iPhone 15, in the identical quarter.
On the similar time, November’s Singles Day gross sales proved to be the worst for Apple. A double-digit share decline was seen for the gross sales interval, even with the primary discount of latest fashions.
Though the China Academy of Info and Communications Know-how reported in January that gross sales of different smartphones continued to say no. Though he’s not singling out Apple, that kind of telephone has been seen in gross sales yearly in gross sales for 4 months in a row.
There’s additionally hope that Apple Intelligence will assist Apple to extend gross sales around the globe. Nevertheless, it didn’t assist in any respect in China, as a result of Apple Intelligence isn’t obtainable within the nation.
Apple plans to roll out assist in China in some unspecified time in the future, however the demand for regulation signifies that it wants assist from the nation’s main tech corporations. It has reportedly been in talks with ByteDance and Tencent to make use of their AI options, however there isn’t a official phrase of a future announcement.
With rivals more and more providing AI providers, Apple has a protracted solution to go to catch up. Releasing Apple Intelligence domestically may go a protracted solution to restoring iPhone gross sales in a rustic Apple needs to achieve.
