Sales of the iPhone in China suffered at the end of 2024, seeing a drop in sales that has put it in a close race for second place with Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi.
Analysis from Counterpoint about the Chinese smartphone market show Apple’s sales slipping during Q4 2024. Apple’s sales fell year-on-year 18.2% when compared to Q4 2023, when the iPhone had a 20.2% market share and was the top selling device in the Chinese smartphone market.
Apple’s overall market share for the region shows Apple’s piece of the Chinese smartphone market sits at 17.1%, putting Apple in third place behind Huawei (18.1%) and just behind Xiaomi (17.2%), who both saw sales increases during the quarter. Huawei’s sales showed an impressive 15.5% year-over-sales jump.
Overall, the Chinese smartphone market declined year-on-year by 3.2%, the only quarter to decline during 2024.
Apple held a 17.9% overall share in 2023, but saw its piece of the action drop to 15.5% in 2024.
Apple’s overall 2024 sales decline of 12.6% from 2023’s sales numbers gave it fourth place in the overall market. Vivo leads with 17.8%, with Huawei at 16.3% and Xiaomi at 15.7%.
Analysts expect to see China’s smartphone market be limited to single-digit growth in 2025, even though a national smartphone subsidy program announced in January, should help increase sales.
Apple doesn’t offer granular details about their sales on a device-by-device basis, so it is unsure just how Counterpoint arrives at its figures.
While Apple Intelligence was expected to boost iPhone sales around the globe, the feature is not yet available in the region. While Apple is working to roll out Apple Intelligence in the country, government regulations mean it requires the company to seek assistance from Chinese tech firms.
