Apple's China smartphone shipments drop 6.7% as Huawei surges, data shows

BEIJING (Reuters) -Apple's smartphone shipments in China fell by 6.7% in the second quarter of 2024, as the tech giant faced intensifying competition from rivals like Huawei, according to data from market research firm Canalys.

The decline underscores the difficulties the U.S. tech giant faces in its third-largest market.

Apple's total shipments for the quarter ending in June stood at 9.7 million units, down from 10.4 million units in the same quarter last year, Canalys data shows.

In contrast, Huawei's smartphone shipments surged 41% year-on-year to 10.6 milion in the quarter, bolstered by the launch of its new Pura 70 series in April.

The Canalys data revealed that Apple's market share decreased to 14% from 16% in the same quarter of 2023.

As a result of this decline, Apple's ranking in the Chinese smartphone market fell from third to sixth place.

Overall, China's smartphone shipments rose by 10% in the quarter, Canalys said. Vivo was the top vendor with a share of 19%, followed by Oppo, Honor and Huawei with 16%, 15% and 15% respectively.

"Domestic manufacturers have demonstrated market leadership, occupying the top five positions in the mainland Chinese market for the first time in history," said Lucas Zhong, research analyst at Canalys.

"On the other hand, Apple faces growth pressure in the Chinese market and is actively focusing on optimising channel management."

Huawei made a comeback to the high-end smartphone segment last August with the release of a device powered by a domestically-made chip, defying U.S. sanctions that have cut off its access to the global chipset supply chain.

In an effort to boost sales, Apple has ramped up its discounting efforts this year to entice consumers. The U.S. company launched an aggressive campaign in May, doubling the scale of an earlier promotion in February and offering price cuts of up to 2,300 yuan ($318.84) on select iPhone models.

Analysts expect Huawei's strong performance to continue throughout the year. Canadian research firm TechInsights projected earlier this year that Huawei's overall smartphone shipments in China will exceed 50 million units in 2024, with the Pura 70 series accounting for 10 million of those shipments.

That would make Huawei the No. 1 seller with a 19% market share, up from 12% in 2023, TechInsights has said.

($1 = 7.2136 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Liam Mo and Casey HallEditing by David Goodman, Sharon Singleton and David Evans)