In Beijing, customers were excited to buy the new Huawei Pura 70 series smartphones on April 18, 2024 at the company’s flagship store. The buzz was palpable as Shenzhen-based Huawei made a remarkable comeback in China and was getting closer to overtaking Apple in the world’s largest smartphone market.
According to Counterpoint Research, Huawei saw an impressive 70% increase in smartphone sales in China in the first quarter of this year, while Apple experienced a decline of more than 19%. Senior research analyst Ivan Lam pointed out that Apple’s sales were subdued due to Huawei’s resurgence impacting the premium segment.
Huawei has been leading China’s smartphone market with nearly 20% share last year, but Apple has now slipped to the third spot in the first quarter of this year with a market share of 15.7%. On the other hand, Huawei’s market share has spiked to 15.5% from 9.3% in the previous year.
Last year, Huawei created a buzz with its Mate 60 Pro smartphone and raised eyebrows among industry experts when the US government sought more information about its advanced processor. Given the restrictions imposed by the US on limiting China’s access to foreign chip technology due to national security concerns, this was quite an achievement.
Recent data from IDC showed that Apple’s global smartphone sales had plummeted by 10% in the first quarter, largely due to waning momentum in China. With Chinese consumers increasingly turning to local brands like Vivo and Honor over foreign ones, it looks like Apple is facing challenges maintaining its foothold in this competitive landscape.
