iPhone Sales in China Declined 24% in First Six Weeks of 2024

Apple’s iPhone sales in China saw a significant decline in the first six weeks of this year that saw it lose the title of China’s best-selling smartphone maker to a local vendor.

‌iPhone‌ sales dropped by 24 percent, pushing Apple down to fourth among smartphone makers in the country, according to Counterpoint Research. Vivo took the top spot, thanks to its success in the budget segment of the market.

That’s despite both companies selling fewer phones, owing to a 7 percent drop in the overall Chinese market, which is suffering the effects of a nationwide deflation.

Meanwhile, Huawei saw its market share grow to 16.5 percent from 9.4 percent, thanks to the popularity of its home-grown Mate 60 series. Apple recorded a 15.7 percent market share, falling from 19 percent a year ago, according to Counterpoint’s data. Overall growth is likely to remain in the red during Q1 2024 on muted spending and a few new product launches, said the analysts.

Apple’s ‌iPhone‌ struggled during the first few weeks of the year for several reasons, according to Counterpoint. “Primarily, it faced stiff competition at the high end from a resurgent Huawei while getting squeezed in the middle on aggressive pricing from the likes of OPPO, vivo and Xiaomi,” said Senior Analyst Mengmeng Zhang.

“Although the iPhone 15 is a great device, it has no significant upgrades from the previous version, so consumers feel fine holding on to the older-generation iPhones for now,” he added.

Apple resellers in China have been increasingly dependent on discounts to shift ‌iPhone 15‌ stock in a market that has entered a general malaise. The discounts followed Apple’s own rare price reductions on its website ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in February.

Apple sales in China dropped 13 percent to $20.8 billion in the quarter ended December, falling short of the $23.5 billion predicted by analysts, and forecasts for a quick improvement in 2024 do not look particularly optimistic.

Source: Apple to Announce New Products This Week

Apple plans to announce new products with press releases on its website this week, a proven source familiar with the matter told MacRumors. While the products that Apple plans to announce have not been disclosed, there are rumors about new iPads, Macs, and accessories. It is unclear exactly what will be announced this week. Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman today reiterated that Apple is planning new…

Apple Announces New MacBook Air Models With M3 Chip

Apple today announced new 13- and 15-inch MacBook Air models with M3 chip, improved external display support, Wi-Fi 6E, and more. Apple says that the new MacBook Air is up to 60% faster than the M1 model and up to 13x faster than the fastest Intel-based MacBook Air. With a faster and more efficient Neural Engine, Apple says that the MacBook Air continues to be “the best consumer laptop for…

Gurman: No Apple Event Planned for Upcoming iPads and Macs

Apple does not plan to hold a traditional event to unveil new iPads and Macs, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman. Instead, he said Apple plans to announce the products on its website with a “series of online videos and marketing campaigns.” If this plan is accurate, we can expect the new products to be announced with press releases on the Apple Newsroom website. Gurman expects Apple to…

Apple Expected to Release iOS 17.4 This Week With These New Features

iOS 17.4 is expected to be released to all users this week. The update includes several new features and changes for the iPhone, as outlined below. Key new features in iOS 17.4 include major App Store, Safari, and Apple Pay changes in the EU, Apple Podcasts transcripts, and an iMessage security upgrade. The update also adds new emoji, introduces Apple Cash virtual card numbers, further…