According to the latest data from research firm IDC, strong sales of the iPhone 16 in China helped Apple return to second place in the domestic smartphone market in the third quarter after falling out of the top five for the past three months. .
iPhone shipments accounted for 15.6% of the market in the three months through September, second only to Vivo’s 18.6%, IDC said Friday. Apple’s latest devices helped it do better than earlier this year, but its market share was down from 16.1% a year earlier.
Apple’s smartphone sales fell 0.3% from a year ago, but initial uptake for the iPhone 16 series, which hit stores in September, was about on par with the previous generation, the report said.
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Huawei’s shipments surged 42% in the quarter, giving it 15.3% of the market, second only to Apple. According to IDC, it has recorded at least double-digit growth for four consecutive quarters. The U.S.-licensed company last year made a comeback to the premium handset market with advanced processors made entirely in China, igniting patriotic fervor at home.
People line up outside Apple Store on a rainy day as the new iPhone 16 series smartphones are launched in Beijing on September 20 Photo: Reuters alt=People line up on a rainy day as the new iPhone 16 series smartphones are launched in Beijing People line up outside the Apple Store at the launch in Beijing on September 20th. Photo: Reuters>
In the June quarter, fierce competition from local companies pushed Apple to sixth place in China by shipments, behind Vivo, Huawei, Oppo, Honor and Xiaomi, according to IDC data. It was the first time in years that the iPhone maker had fallen so much in one of its most important markets.
According to IDC, in China, the world’s largest smartphone market, device shipments in the third quarter increased by 3.2% to 68.8 million units, marking the fourth consecutive quarterly increase.
“A significant wave of device upgrades is driving the sustained recovery of China’s smartphone market,” said Arthur Guo, senior research analyst at IDC China, in a report.
Chinese smartphone vendors Vivo, Huawei, and Xiaomi all achieved double-digit year-over-year growth in the third quarter. According to IDC, Vivo remained the leader with strong 21.5% growth in shipments.
