Apple falls: iPhone maker out of China’s top 5 as Huawei ascends

Chinese smartphone vendors filled out the entire top-five list for the first time in the second quarter, knocking Apple to No 6

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People visit Asia’s largest Apple Store in Shanghai on March 22, 2024. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 4:14pm, 26 Jul 2024

Apple has fallen out of the top 5 ranking of smartphone vendors in China, according to data trackers, marking the first time in years the iPhone maker has fallen so low in one of its most important markets.

iPhone shipments in China in the three months ended June declined 2 per cent year on year, bumping Apple down to No 6 on Canalys’ list of top vendors by shipments, putting it behind Vivo, Oppo, Honor, Huawei Technologies and Xiaomi, according to a report from the market research firm on Thursday.

“It is the first quarter in history that domestic vendors dominate all the top five positions,” Canalys analyst Lucas Zhong wrote. “Conversely, Apple is facing a bottleneck in mainland China.”

Since launching the Mate 60 series smartphones last year, Huawei has been resurgent in China. Photo: Reuters

The Chinese smartphone market, the world’s largest, is extremely competitive, with the top six brands competing for roughly 95 per cent of the market. Apple is the last foreign brand standing in this group after Samsung Electronics lost relevance.

iPhone sales have been slumping in China this year amid fierce competition from local vendors, including Huawei, which has experienced a resurgence in the higher-end smartphone market thanks to an advanced processor produced entirely in China that has ignited patriotic fervour at home.

“In the first half of the year, Huawei was the leader in the market despite the US trade restrictions, further closing the gap with Apple in the >US$600 segment,” research firm IDC’s senior analyst Arthur Guo wrote in a report published on Friday.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.