BEIJING (Reuters) – Apple was dethroned as the leader of China’s smartphone market in 2024, with local rivals Vivo and Huawei overtaking the North American company after its sales in the country for the year fell 17%, according to data from the company. Canalys survey released this Thursday.
Apple’s performance represented the company’s biggest annual sales decline in China and involved a contraction in all four quarters of the year, including a 25% drop in the final three months, according to the data.
Vivo, a maker of budget smartphones, achieved a 17% market share in China in 2024, followed by premium rival Huawei with 16% and Apple with 15%, demonstrating the growing sales pressure the North American company is facing. American company faces national manufacturers in one of its largest global markets.
Apple’s decline in China also indicates how factors such as the lack of artificial intelligence capabilities in the latest iPhones, where ChatGPT is not available, are affecting the North American company’s competitiveness.
“This marks Apple’s worst annual performance in China,” said Toby Zhu, an analyst at Canalys.
“Apple’s premium market position faces several challenges: Huawei’s continued launches, the proliferation of domestic foldable phones in high-price segments, and Android brands like Xiaomi and Vivo building consumer loyalty through technological innovations,” he said .
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Apple had already enjoyed four years of consistent growth following US sanctions that placed Huawei on an entity list in 2019, restricting its access to US technology.
But Huawei made a strong comeback to the premium segment in August 2023 when it launched new phones with locally manufactured chipsets. The Chinese company reported a 24% increase in fourth-quarter sales.
Apple had to resort to rare discounts to stimulate sales. The company launched a four-day promotion in China, from January 4 to 7, offering price cuts of up to 500 yuan ($68.50) on models in the 16 line.
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Major Chinese e-commerce platforms followed suit with their own promotions. Alibaba’s Tmall marketplace has announced discounts of up to 1,000 yuan ($137) on the latest iPhone 16 series devices.
Among the top five smartphone vendors, Xiaomi, which mainly focuses on cheaper models, saw the most growth with a 29% increase in fourth-quarter sales, while Oppo and Vivo saw gains of 18% and 14%, respectively. according to data from Canalys.
Annual smartphone sales in China in 2024 rose 4% to 285 million devices.
