Apple Continues to Lose Its Chinese Market Share Against Huawei

Recent reports on local smartphone shipments in China have revealed a notable decline in Apple’s market share. According to IDC and Canalys, vivo emerged as the top-selling brand in the third quarter of 2024. Meanwhile, Huawei and Xiaomi also experienced a significant surge in shipments, outperforming their American counterpart, which failed to replicate its success from the same period last year.

Despite variations in data collection methods among analysts, the overall trend paints a clear picture: the Chinese market is becoming increasingly competitive. The gap between the top and bottom of the top five brands has narrowed to just 5 percentage points, indicating a tightening race.

In the third quarter of 2024, from July to September, Vivo successfully catered to a broad consumer base by offering a diverse range of products across multiple price segments. Apple, meanwhile, focused on its latest iPhone 16 lineup.

Huawei leveraged national pride to boost sales, despite facing restrictions imposed by US sanctions. Xiaomi adopted a strategy of offering phones at lower prices and margins. Additionally, Honor made a notable entry with its Magic Flip and Magic V3 foldable devices.

According to a report by IDC, there was a significant shift in consumer preferences towards higher-end devices. Shipments of phones priced above $600 increased to nearly 30%, while the share of premium devices in the $400-$600 range declined to 6.6%. This category includes foldable smartphones, which saw a 13.6% year-over-year growth in shipments.

In the foldable segment, Huawei maintained its dominance with a 41% market share. Honor followed closely with a 21.9% share. Completing the top five were Xiaomi, Samsung, and Vivo.