Apple’s iPhone shipments in China surged 20% year-over-year in the first quarter, delivering the strongest growth among major vendors despite a broader market slump, according to data from Counterpoint Research.
Overall smartphone shipments in the world’s largest smartphone market fell 4% from January to March, weighed down by supply chain disruptions and soaring memory chip prices.
China’s two leading vendors — Apple and Huawei — bucked the trend, posting growth of 20% and 2%, respectively.
Reuters:
“As most rivals raise prices, Apple stands out for value, with Chinese consumers knowing its products last at least three years,” Ivan Lam, senior analyst at Counterpoint Research.
Huawei’s shipments were lifted by strong demand across both its high-end and budget ranges, including the Enjoy 90 series, giving it a 20% market share in the quarter, Lam said.
Huawei retained the top spot, followed by Apple with a share of 19%.
Lam expected more headwinds for the market in the second quarter, particularly as Chinese brands look to raise prices further.
“However, we expect Apple and Huawei to fare relatively better, with Huawei potentially seeing further shipment growth driven by solid demand for its lower-end devices,” Lam said.
MacDailyNews Take: While Huawei’s modest 2% growth and 20% market share benefit from a broad portfolio that includes many lower-priced budget models (such as the Enjoy 90 series), Apple achieved its explosive 20% surge exclusively with premium-priced, high-margin iPhones. Apple does not compete in the budget or entry-level segments at all.
In a quarter where rising memory chip prices hammered price-sensitive parts of the market and forced many vendors to raise prices on cheaper handsets, Apple’s laser focus on the high end — combined with strong iPhone 17 demand, targeted promotions, and superior supply-chain resilience — delivered outsized unit growth and lifted it to a very close second place (19% share) with far superior profitability per device.
In short: Huawei padded volume across price tiers; Apple simply dominated the premium segment where margins matter most. That’s a significantly stronger accomplishment in the challenging China smartphone market.
Please help support MacDailyNews — and enjoy subscriber-only articles, comments, chat, and more — by subscribing to our Substack: macdailynews.substack.com. Thank you!
Support MacDailyNews at no extra cost to you by using this link to shop at Amazon.