Tech giant Huawei saw a sharp jump in smartphone sales in China in the second quarter of the year, while its top US rival Apple was pushed out of the top five rankings.
US-sanctioned Huawei saw a 41% jump in smartphone shipments year-on-year, to 10.6 milion in the quarter, data from market research firm Canalys showed.
In contrast, iPhone-maker Apple had smartphone shipments in China fall by 6.7% for the period, down to 9.7 million units.
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The latest fall in sales pushed Apple’s ranking in the Chinese smartphone market down to sixth place from the third spot earlier in the year.
The decline underscores the challenge from immense local competition that the US tech giant faces in its third-largest market.
The top five spots in the country are now held solely by Chinese smartphone makers.
Vivo was the top vendor for the quarter with a market share of 19%, followed by Oppo, Honor and Huawei with 16%, 15% and 15% respectively.
Meanwhile, Apple’s market share was 14%, down from 16% in the last quarter.
“Domestic manufacturers have demonstrated market leadership, occupying the top five positions in the mainland Chinese market for the first time in history,” Lucas Zhong, research analyst at Canalys, said.
“On the other hand, Apple faces growth pressure in the Chinese market and is actively focusing on optimising channel management.”
Apple discounts fall flat
Huawei made a comeback to the high-end smartphone segment last August with the release of a device powered by a domestically-made 7nm chip.
While that launch surprised market experts, it sparked a huge patriotic wave in favour of China’s Huawei, as it was seen as the company’s victory over US sanctions that once debilitated it.
The latest surge in Huawei’s sales have been bolstered by the launch of its new Pura 70 series in April.
Meanwhile, Apple has ramped up its discounting efforts this year in an effort to boost sales.
The US 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.
The discounts led to an initial bump in Apple’s sales, but falling shipments show they have not made a long-term difference.
On the other hand, 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 would exceed 50 million units in 2024, with the Pura 70 series accounting for 10 million of those shipments.
That would make Huawei the biggest seller in China with a 19% market share in the country.
- Reuters, with additional editing by Vishakha Saxena
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