Apple's struggle in China continues, according to new data from research company Canalys. These data show that Apple not only lost first place in China in terms of smartphone shipments in the first quarter of 2024, but also fell to fifth place.
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In the first quarter of 2024, Apple's shipments to China reached 10 million units, down 25, according to Canalys. % year after year. That gives Apple a 15% share of the Chinese smartphone market, up from the 20% share it held at the same time last year.
Here's the full breakdown of China's smartphone makers' shipments and year-over-year growth in the first quarter:
| Supplier | first quarter 2024 shipments (millions) |
Q1 2024 market share |
Q1 2023 shipments (millions) |
Q1 2023 market share |
Annual growth |
| Huawei | 11.7 | 17% | 6.8 | 10% | 70% |
| OPPO  ; | 10.9 | 16% | 12.6 | 19% | -14% |
| HONOR | 10.6 | 16% | 9.7 | 14% | 9% |
| vivo | 10.3 | 15% | 11.3 | 17%  ; | -9% |
| Apple | 10.0 | 15% | 13.3 | 20% | -25% |
| Others | 14.2 | 21% | 13.8 | 20% | 3% |
| Total | 67.7 | 100% | 67.6 | 100 % | 0% |
As you can see, Huawei has become was the clear winner of the quarter and posted 70% year-on-year growth. Canalys analyst Lucas Zhong says part of this can be explained by Apple being caught off guard by generative AI:
“The AI-enabled smartphone provides an important opportunity for Chinese manufacturers to differentiate themselves in the high-end segment in 2024 to challenge Apple in their home market. Canalys predicts that AI-enabled smartphones will account for 12% of shipments in mainland China in 2024, above the global average of 9%. Vendors are actively engaging consumers by developing compelling AI use cases and integrating AI features into their latest flagship products, while spending large marketing dollars on consumer education.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook traveled to China last month, where he visited Apple stores, supply chain partners, government officials and more. Last week, Apple was forced to remove key apps such as Telegram, Signal, WhatsApp and Threads from the App Store in China following government orders.
Canalys' full report can be found on its website.
