Apple falls to third place in Chinese smartphone market, Huawei and Xiaomi take lead

Apple

Apple was one of the best selling smartphone brands in China in 2023. However, in the last three months of 2024, Apple has had a rough time selling iPhones in China. As per a Counterpoint research report, Apple’s sales have dropped to 18.2 per cent. Huawei has become the best selling smartphone brand in China, closely followed by Xiaomi. Apple has gone from being number one to number three in the Chinese smartphone market.

The Counterpoint Research report reveals that Apple used to have about 19 per cent market share last year. But this year, the numbers have been abysmally low for Apple as the company has only got 17 per cent market share. Huawei and Xiaomi, on the other hand, have taken over the market with 18.1 per cent and 17.2 per cent respectively.This is the first time since the US put restrictions on Huawei that Apple has been outranked by them in China.

While it is not clear what has caused the drop, local Chinese brands like Huawei have stepped up their game in the country. Apple on the other hand has not been able to make the Apple Intelligence in China due to some regulatory issues. Apple is reportedly working with local companies to bring those features to Chinese users but it will take some time. Huawei is doing well with their AI features on their new releases

Not just Apple, the report reveals that the overall smartphone market in China took a hit. There was a 3.2 per cent drop in sales in the last quarter of 2024.