A recent report from market research authority Counterpoint Research revealed a trend that cannot be ignored: Apple's sales performance in the Chinese market is experiencing a significant decline. Behind this phenomenon is the strong recovery of China's local technology giant Huawei Technologies***. Apple's iPhone sales plummeted by 24% compared to the same period last year in the first six weeks of 2024, a figure that undoubtedly brought deep worries to its investors and led to Apple's stock price trading at 2.2 percent in early trading on Tuesday5% decline.
Huawei's Mate 60 series phones became a bright spot in China's smartphone market earlier this year due to their strong market appeal. While overall smartphone sales were down 7% from a year earlier, Huawei bucked the trend, soaring its market share to 17% from 9% last year. In stark contrast, Apple's market share in China fell to about 16 percent from 19 percent last year.
Huawei has struggled since 2019 under the technical constraints of the United States, but its Mate 60 Pro, which was launched in August last year, is undoubtedly a resounding slap in the face for its return to the competition. The success of this strategy has not only reshaped Huawei's market position, but also posed a huge challenge for Apple and other brands.
In addition to direct competition with Huawei, Apple also needs to face fierce confrontation with brands such as OPPO and Vivo in the Chinese market. Although these brands also experienced a decline in sales in the early days, their aggressive pricing strategies in the mid-range market still put a lot of pressure on Apple.
In this battle of the high-end market, Apple seems to have begun to adjust its strategy to seek a breakthrough. Recently, Apple has significantly lowered the sales of the iPhone 15 series in China through a price reduction strategy**, hoping to stimulate market demand and increase sales. That said, the overall consumer confidence in the market needs to be improved, especially in the current economic environment, which is a daunting challenge.
In the coming quarter, growth across the market will continue to be difficult. For Apple, how to recover its share of the Chinese market in this fiercely competitive environment will be a key challenge for Apple.