Liam Mo and Brenda Goh
BEIJING (Reuters) – Apple’s smartphone shipments in China fell 19% in the first quarter of the year, its worst performance since 2020, as the company’s dominance in the high-end segment came under pressure from new product launches from Huawei, market data showed.
Apple’s (NASDAQ:) share of the world’s largest smartphone market fell to 15.7% in the first quarter from 19.7% a year earlier. That puts it almost on par with Huawei, whose sales are up 70%, according to research firm Counterpoint.
Apple lost the title of China’s biggest smartphone seller to local rival Vivo, falling to third place in the quarter, followed by Huawei, whose market share jumped to 15.5% from 9.3% a year earlier. Local rival Honor came in second.
Last week, Huawei launched the Pura 70 series of high-end phones, following the launch of the Mate 60 series in August. The Mate 60 was seen as the Chinese firm’s return to the high-end market and was described as a triumph over US sanctions on the company as the phones contain an advanced Chinese-made chip.