Apple CEO Tim Prepare dinner holds up a brand new iPhone 15 Professional throughout an Apple occasion on Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Pictures Information | Getty Pictures
Apple for the primary time grew to become the most important smartphone vendor in China by shipments, new information for 2023 launched on Thursday confirmed.
The iPhone maker’s market share in China stood at 17.3% in 2023, in keeping with the Worldwide Knowledge Company (IDC), a record-high for the agency on this planet’s second-largest economic system.
Apple’s total smartphone shipments fell 2.2% year-on-year in 2023, whereas the general market fell 5%, IDC mentioned. Shipments are the gadgets that Apple sends to its third-party sellers and doesn’t equal direct gross sales. Nevertheless, they’re a sign of demand.
“Apple’s climb to the highest spot in 2023, particularly in mild of renewed competitors from Huawei and the gentle spending sentiment, marks an amazing success for Apple,” Arthur Guo, senior analysis analyst at IDC China, mentioned in a press launch.
“Apple achieved this due to well timed worth promotions in its third-party channels, which stimulated demand.”
Certainly, lots of the on-line gross sales platforms in China supplied reductions on the flagship iPhone 15 within the fourth quarter. Even this month, Apple made a uncommon transfer to supply reductions throughout the iPhone 15 vary by itself web site in China to maintain up momentum.
China’s smartphone market has been hit due to an unsure financial atmosphere within the nation and weak shopper spending.
In 2023, Honor, a spin-off from Chinese language firm Huawei, held the second spot with 16.8% market share, adopted by Vivo, Huawei after which Oppo.
One other market analysis agency referred to as Counterpoint Analysis additionally got here out with China numbers on Thursday. Counterpoint mentioned it expects the China market to file low single-digit year-on-year progress in 2024, the primary 12 months of progress since 2018.
Huawei resurgence
One of many greatest adjustments in 2023 was Huawei’s return to the highest 5 rating in China throughout the fourth quarter, after greater than two years outdoors of the main group.
Huawei was as soon as China and the world’s greatest smartphone maker. However the Chinese language tech large’s handset enterprise was crippled by U.S. sanctions which lower it off from key applied sciences like modern semiconductors and software program.
Nevertheless, final 12 months, Huawei debuted a telephone that contained fairly a cutting-edge semiconductor, manufactured by China’s greatest chipmaker SMIC. This was a giant shock contemplating U.S. sanctions had been designed to cease this occurring.
That new telephone, the Mate 60, has helped Huawei make huge features in China. Huawei shipments grew 36% year-on-year within the December quarter and it commanded a 13.9% market share, IDC mentioned.
Huawei knocked Chinese language electronics maker Xiaomi out of the highest 5.
“This can solely intensify the competitors as no distributors will need to lose a high 5 place on this planet’s largest smartphone market,” Will Wong, senior analysis supervisor at IDC, mentioned in an announcement.
