Apple iPhone sales in China plunged 19% in the first three months of the year — the worst performance since the start of the pandemic in 2020 — to knock the Tech giant from its perch as the top-selling phone in the crucial market.
The Cupertino, Calif.-based company’s share in the world’s biggest smartphone market fell to 15.7% in the first quarter from 19.7% a year earlier.
That put it almost level with Huawei, which saw sales jump 70%, according to research firm Counterpoint.
Apple lost its crown as the biggest smartphone seller in China to rival Vivo, sliding to third place in the quarter, followed by Huawei, whose market share jumped to 15.5% from 9.3% a year earlier.
Honor, a mass market brand spun out of Huawei, was in second place.
“Huawei’s comeback has directly impacted Apple in the premium segment. Besides, the replacement demand for Apple has been slightly subdued compared to previous years,” said Counterpoint analyst Ivan Lam in a press release.
Apple’s slippage in China is partially the result of the government’s crackdown on foreign technology being used in official state agencies and companies.
Apple, whose stock has been flat in the last year, is preparing to report earnings on May 2.
On Tuesday, the company said it will hold an event on May 7 amid reports that it would roll out the long-anticipated revamped versions of iPad Pro and iPad Air next month.
Shares of Apple were slightly up as of 11:41 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday.
The stock price was at around $166.54 a share.
China is Apple’s third-biggest market — behind the US and Europe — and generated around 17% of its total revenue in the October-December quarter.
Another data firm found that iPhone shipments fell globally by nearly 10% in the first three months of the year — allowing Samsung’s Android-operated phones overtake Apple’s in worldwide sales.
In an effort to boost its sales in China, Apple started slashing prices earlier this year — offering discounts of as much as $180 off the regular retail price.
Huawei, which has been heavily sanctioned by the US, has implemented domestically manufactured chips in its new Mate 60 Pro smartphone, which is being hailed as a symbol of national ingenuity in China.
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told CBS’s “60 Minutes” last Sunday that the chip is not as advanced as those made in the US.
The Biden administration has banned US firms from investing in Chinese companies that build sensitive technologies, including semiconductors and microelectronics.
The order was aimed at preventing American capital and expertise from helping China develop technologies that could support its military modernization and undermine US national security.
The measure targets private equity, venture capital, joint ventures and greenfield investments.
Last week, Apple complied with a Chinese government demand to remove popular apps such as WhatsApp, Threads, Telgram and Signal.
US lawmakers recently voted in favor of a proposal that could result in the ban of TikTok, the hugely popular social media app that is owned by ByteDance, a Chinese tech conglomerate based in Beijing.
Apple has sought to reduce its dependence on China in recent years by diversifying its supply chain — building manufacturing hubs in places like Vietnam and India.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said last week that the company was mulling establishing a presence in Indonesia.
With Post Wires
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