The new numbers from China are in: iPhones go down a whole 10%, Huawei sales soar 37% up،
Probably half of all discussions about Apple these days concern China in one way or another and how the Cupertino giant is dealing with problems in the PRC (People’s Republic of China).
More recently, reports about the Mate 60 Pro and how it sold 1.6 million units in six weeks made headlines. Less than ten days ago, another report revealed that the iPhone 15 series would sell “much worse” than the iPhone 14 in China. In late summer, China decided to ban Apple phones from central government offices. Anticipating all of this – or perhaps purely coincidentally – Apple began production of the iPhone 15 in India in August, as it plans to eventually move production out of China.
What are the news?
A new market intelligence report suggests that iPhone sales in China fell 10% year-over-year, between the third quarter of 2022 and the same period in 2023 (via 9to5Mac). This is much worse than the overall 3% decline in China’s smartphone market. Several explanations are offered, but the simplest is the Huawei Renaissance and its return with the Mate 60 Pro, whose hardware drove American officials crazy.
The report states that a 3% year-over-year decline in the smartphone market is actually a somewhat positive trend, given that the decline is smaller than in recent quarters. This could prove to be a sign of a return to growth.
The only brands in China that have happily observed an increase in sales are Mi and Honor – with 5% and 3% more respectively. Huawei saw its sales increase by 37%. The iPhone saw a 10% decline.
Is the battle over?
It’s safe to say that Apple won’t just roll over and abandon one of its most important markets. Even if the iPhone15 If the line continues to not sell well in China, the Cupertino giant won’t take that too much to heart and will instead focus on what could improve next year. And, who knows, maybe Chinese users are waiting for the tech deals and discounts in November, December and January to clean up their act. iPhone15 stock… Speaking of the upcoming iPhone 16 lineup, it should be more attractive. Analyst Jeff Pu shared some details on what to expect from the iPhone16. According to him, next year’s Pro models will feature a faster 5G modem, Wi-Fi 7 and a new 48-megapixel ultra-wide lens. On the other hand, the non-Pro versions (the iPhone16 And iPhone16 Plus) will benefit from some of the technologies introduced with the iPhone 15 Pro, like Wi-Fi 6e.
