On September 2, 2024, Huawei flagship store and Apple Flagship Store located on Nanjing Road Sidewalk Street in Shanghai, China.
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Huawei regained its top position in China’s smartphone market in the second quarter of this year. apple One of its most important markets, data, was released, as technology market analyst company Canalys returned to the country’s growth shown on Monday.
Huawei shipped 12.2 million smartphones to China in the three months ended in June. This was an increase of 15% from the previous year. According to Canalys, this is the first time Huawei has been China’s biggest player since the first quarter of 2024.
Meanwhile, Apple shipped 10.1 million smartphones in the Chinese quarter, ranking fifth, up 4% from the previous year. This is the first time Apple has recorded growth in China since the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Canalys.
Shipment represents the number of devices sent to the retailer. They are not directly equivalent to sales, but they are measures of demand.
Numbers are ahead of Apple’s quarterly revenue release this week, with investors watching the company’s performance in China. This is a market where the Cupertino giants face great challenges, including fierce competition with other local players such as Huawei and Xiaomi.
After the smartphone business was crippled by US sanctions, Huawei made a comeback at the end of 2023, eating up Apple’s share.
Apple’s return to growth in China is a welcome sign for investors. According to Canalys, the US tech giant “strategically adjusted pricing” for China’s iPhone 16 series. The Chinese e-commerce company discounted Apple’s iPhone 16 model during the quarter. Apple itself has also raised the trade prices for some iPhone models.
Canalys figures backed up the figures released earlier this month by Counterpoint Research, indicating that Apple has returned to growth in China.
Apple’s stock fell about 14.5% this year, in part to concerns over China and geopolitical headwinds.
US President Donald Trump threatened Apple with tariffs and urged CEO Tim Cook to manufacture iPhones in the US, experts say it’s nearly impossible.
Meanwhile, competition in China is intensifying. Huawei has actively launched a variety of smartphones over the past year and has begun rolling out its own self-developed operating system, the Harmonyos 5, on a variety of devices. It is a rival to Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.
“This move is expected to accelerate the expansion of the user base of an independent ecosystem, and places great demand for system compatibility and user experience,” said Lucas Zhong, analyst at Canalys in a press release.
