Apple's smartphone sales in China fell by 0.3% in the third quarter of 2024, while rival Huawei saw sales surge by 42%. This dynamic shows the growing competition in the world's largest smartphone market, where tech giants are vying for share among Chinese consumers.

According to data from research firm IDC, Apple retained second place in the market with a 15.6% share, down 0.5 percentage points year-on-year. In contrast, Huawei reached third place with a market share of 15.3%, an increase of 4.2 percentage points compared to the same period last year. Vivo, which sells mainly affordable phones, remained in first place with a share of 18.6%.

This development reflects Huawei's return to the premium phone segment, which it launched last year with the launch of the Mate 60, equipped with a domestically manufactured chip. The move has allowed Huawei to reach a wider range of customers and compete with upmarket brands such as Apple. Further strengthening Huawei's position was the launch of the Pura 70, which quickly gained popularity in the Chinese market.

Apple has faced several challenges in the Chinese market in recent months. The government has imposed restrictions on the use of iPhones in some government agencies, which has hit its sales. The American technology firm is trying to address the situation with extensive discount campaigns and strong marketing to increase its appeal to Chinese consumers.

Although Apple faces challenges, its recently launched iPhone 16 model had a successful launch in the Chinese market. According to Counterpoint data, sales of the model were 20% higher in the first three weeks than the previous model from 2023. Along with Apple's new iPhone, Huawei also launched sales on 20 September, introducing a competitive foldable phone.

IDC said that Apple has moved back into the top five in the Chinese market with a 15.6% share thanks to its annual new product launch. Analysts expect demand for the iPhone 16 to grow gradually thanks to further promotions and the expected launch of Apple's Vision Pro device.

Overall, the smartphone market in China grew 3.2% in the third quarter to reach 68.78 million units sold. These figures indicate not only the growing interest in smartphones, but also the fierce competition between domestic and foreign brands in China, which is a key market for most mobile device manufacturers.

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Source: CNN, Yahoo.