Important points
- Apple regained its top five spot in China’s smartphone market in the third quarter, according to a new study.
- According to International Data Corporation, Apple’s share of China’s smartphone market was 15.6%, down from 16.1% a year ago, but still good for its second-largest market share.
- Apple fell out of the top five in IDC’s survey for the second quarter after struggling with sales in China in the first half of this year amid the rise of domestic competitors such as Huawei, vivo and Xiaomi.
Apple (AAPL) regained its place among China’s top five smartphone sellers in the third quarter with the launch of the iPhone 16, according to International Data Corporation (IDC).
The tech giant’s share of China’s smartphone market was 15.6%, down from 16.1% a year ago, but still good for the second-largest smartphone market, according to IDC. The top seller was the Chinese company vivo.
Apple fell out of the top five in IDC’s survey for the second quarter after struggling with sales in China in the first half of this year amid the rise of domestic competitors such as Huawei, vivo and Xiaomi.
China’s smartphone market recovers despite economic slowdown
With the launch of the iPhone 16 and competitors’ flagship brands, the smartphone market is recovering again despite China’s economic slowdown, with IDC reporting third-quarter sales of 68.8 million units, up 3.2% year-on-year. announced.
“A large wave of device upgrades is driving the sustained recovery of China’s smartphone market,” said Arthur Guo, senior research analyst at IDC China. “Despite ongoing economic challenges, consumers are more willing to buy new smartphones after three years of pent-up demand.”
Apple has yet to include the latest artificial intelligence (AI) features in its new devices in China, and analysts say delays could leave the tech giant at a disadvantage against rivals. . Apple Intelligence will roll out to English devices in the coming weeks, and to other languages like Spanish and Chinese next year.
Apple CEO Tim Cook reportedly traveled to Beijing this week to meet with government officials and local partners to gain support for Apple Intelligence.
Apple stock was up less than 1% after the market opened on Friday. In 2024, it rose by about 20%.
