Apple’s iPhones are losing their appeal in China while local rivals are improving, according to market tracker IDC.
iPhone shipments in the country fell 3.1% year-on-year in the second quarter, International Data Corporation (IDC) said, despite China’s smartphone shipments gaining 8.9%. Apple’s decline has knocked out the top five automakers in China for the first time in four years, according to a report.
“In the first half of the year, Huawei was the market leader despite US trade restrictions, continuing to close the gap with Apple in the > US$ 600 segment,” IDC senior analyst Arthur Guo said in the report.
Apple’s iPhone has struggled to maintain its popularity in China this year, despite the tech giant launching an aggressive discounting campaign to combat declining sales in one of its biggest markets. The competition was fierce last year. Local rivals Huawei and Xiaomi, for example, saw strong double-digit growth in the second quarter, according to IDC.
To be sure, it’s hard to measure iPhone shipments. For example, iPhone revenue in China increased in the first quarter of this year, although many believe that shipments have decreased. Apple is expected to report second-quarter earnings on August 1.
Apple hopes to ship at least 90 million of its upcoming iPhone 16 models in the second half of this year, according to Bloomberg. report.
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