2024 has brought unexpected headwinds for Apple Inc. in the Chinese market, striking a contrast to its victorious streak in the global smartphone scene last year. Once outshining rivals like Samsung in 2023 with record smartphone shipments, the California-based company is now grappling with a sudden sales dip in China, according to recent data.
Bloomberg’s reference to state-released figures reveals a sharp 33% decline in iPhone sales during the Lunar New Year shopping season—a critical time for tech sales. Specifically, iPhone sales nosedived from 3.6 million units in February last year to just 2.4 million this February, marking a startling 39% drop from January.
Now, Apple’s sales volume for the first two months of 2024 hasn’t just slipped; it’s plummeted under 8 million units, a fall from the lofty heights of 12.6 million in early 2023. Apple’s grip on the Chinese market, which had established dominance over local contenders like Honor, Oppo, and Vivo, seems tenuous at best.
Notably, Huawei is making a robust comeback, aiming to regain its domestic crown and ascend the global shipment ranks, though doubts linger about its ability to go head-to-head with the shipment volumes of industry colossuses Apple and Samsung.
However, the entire Chinese smartphone market is not immune to hitting snags, with sales hitting a third of the previous year’s stats in February 2024. Despite these indicators, analysts anticipate a steady market recovery over the year. But the outlook for Apple isn’t as rosy, with projections suggesting persistent declines in iPhone shipments.
Standing as a lone global contender in the competitive Chinese smartphone arena offers Apple little solace. It’s facing the heat from strong domestic brands, including Huawei, Honor, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi.
On the brighter side, Apple’s Q1 2024 financials (ending December 30, 2023) show a modest revenue increase of 2% year-over-year, with a notable 16% hike in earnings per share, buoyed by hearty iPhone sales and unprecedented services revenue. What’s more, Apple achieves a milestone with an active installed device base soaring to 2.2 billion, despite the Chinese market slump.
Analysts predict around a 15% downturn in iPhone shipments for 2024, pointing at toughening competitive pressures. The tech community is now watching closely, anticipating how Apple’s hallmark innovation and agility will help it weather this stormy phase of the smartphone industry.