George Chen

Opinion | Why Apple’s iPhone is losing its shine in China

Beyond geopolitics, the iPhone increasingly looks pricey and dull next to Chinese smartphones – and the iPhone 16 may not turn the tide

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An Apple store in Beijing on February 2. Apple phones, once an undisputed status symbol in the eyes of Chinese youth, have seen a significant erosion of their market share in China. Photo: Bloomberg

George Chen

Published: 8:30pm, 21 Aug 2024Updated: 9:43pm, 21 Aug 2024

Since its debut more than 17 years ago, Apple’s iPhone has been more than a smartphone in the eyes of Chinese consumers – it has been a status symbol. This was especially true for China’s younger generation, who grew up with US cultural influences from drinking Coca-Cola to watching Hollywood films as Beijing opened its economy to foreign investment in the early 1980s.

Recently, however, the iPhone has seen a decline in appeal, and Apple, the world’s leading consumer technology company, is losing its allure in China.

Apple has seen a significant erosion of its market share. For the first time ever, in the second quarter of this year, the top five bestselling smartphones in China were all domestic brands, according to Canalys. The top five were Vivo, followed by Oppo, Honor (Huawei’s premium sister brand), Huawei and Xiaomi. Apple dropped to No 6, holding just 14 per cent of the market.

So what changed? Geopolitics, and especially US-China tensions, have negatively affected Apple’s business in China. Beijing has stepped up its propaganda in recent years to endorse domestic brands. It now also reportedly requires that government officials and state-owned enterprise staff not use iPhones or other foreign brands, thought to be for national security reasons.

Apple may have to bear some responsibility for the situation. China’s phonemakers, such as Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi, have invested heavily in partnerships, including integrating Leica camera lenses and photographic technology to enhance image quality – catering to Chinese consumers who place a high importance on photo-taking.