Apple recaptured the top spot in China’s smartphone market in the fourth quarter, but it fell to third place in 2024 after a year of escalating competition from domestic players, including a resurgent Huawei Technologies.
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The US tech giant saw smartphone shipments in China plummet 25 per cent to 13.1 million units in the three months through December, down from 17.5 million a year earlier, according to data released by research firm Canalys on Thursday. It narrowly edged out Chinese vendors Vivo and Huawei, which each shipped 12.9 million smartphones, giving all three companies a market share of roughly 17 per cent.
Xiaomi and Oppo ranked fourth and fifth in the fourth quarter, shipping 12.2 million and 10.6 million units, respectively.
Huawei has seen rapid growth in the Chinese smartphone market since the US-sanctioned firm introduced new home-grown chips in 2023. Its shipments were up 24 per cent year on year for the quarter and 37 per cent for the full year. Its shipments reached 46 million units last year, according to Canalys.
For the full year, Apple was behind Vivo and Huawei in its second-most important market, after reaching the top in 2023. Its shipments fell 17 per cent to 42.9 million units for the year. The iPhone maker made up 15 per cent of the market, while Vivo and Huawei took 17 per cent and 16 per cent, respectively.
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China’s smartphone market as a whole saw shipments rise 5 per cent to 77.4 million units in the fourth quarter, and shipments were up 4 per cent for the full year to 285 million units, according to Canalys. It marked a recovery in the region after two years of decline.