Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

China iPhone Sales Likely to Continue Losing Ground to Huawei in 2024

MacRumors

MacRumors

macrumors bot
Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
69,401
40,444


Apple appears to be facing an uphill battle to reverse falling iPhone sales in China, with last year's double-digit decline projected to deepen through 2024 owing to strong interest in Huawei's latest home-grown lineup, according to analyst expectations (via Bloomberg).

huawei-mate-pro-60.jpg
Huawei Mate 60 Pro​

In an investor note on Sunday citing industry checks, Jeffries analyst Edison Lee said Apple in December suffered a 30% year-on-year decline in iPhone sales in the country while the rest of the market grew, with Huawei seeing the fastest growth thanks to its latest Mate 60 lineup.

Jefferies estimates Huawei shipped 35 million smartphones last year, with only supply constraints preventing it from hitting even bigger heights spurred by a "patriotic fervor" surrounding the phone.

Released in September just weeks before the iPhone 15, Huawei's Mate 60 Pro uses a new China-made 7-nanometer processor tailored for the local market, showcasing the kind of advanced semiconductor manufacturing capabilities that US sanctions were originally designed to prevent.

Jeffries forecasts Apple will see a similar double-digit fall in iPhone sales for 2024, indicated by discounts on Apple's smartphone lineup across various online merchants, which are expected to cut into the average selling price without stimulating volume growth.

Apple's efforts to counter the slump are also likely to be hampered by China's decision last year to ban iPhones from the offices of multiple government agencies and state companies. China has a huge number of state-owned enterprises in power generation, seaport construction, mining, manufacturing, education, and investment markets.

Meanwhile, Huawei's comeback is predicted to continue, with the Chinese company continuing to develop and extend its own operating system, HarmonyOS, designed to rival iOS and Android.

Article Link: China iPhone Sales Likely to Continue Losing Ground to Huawei in 2024
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2024/01/08/iphone-sales-down-huawei-resurgence-china/
  • Like
Reactions: redbeard331
Not gonna lie, I am sort of happy about this decline and I am saying this as an idiot that gave into buying an iPhone 15 Plus myself (my iPhone 12 Pro Max is still doing great and I honestly hardly notice a difference besides the battery obviously being much better).

Time for either a price drop an / or more innovations besides just further camera improvements
 
  • Like
  • Love
  • Disagree
Reactions: AeroEd, Miicat_47, eifelbube and 36 others
contacos said:
Not gonna lie, I am sort of happy about this decline and I am saying this as an idiot that gave into buying an iPhone 15 Plus myself (my iPhone 12 Pro Max is still doing great and I honestly hardly notice a difference besides the battery obviously being much better).

Time for either a price drop an / or more innovations besides just further camera improvements
Click to expand...
We have all been burned from time to time.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Miicat_47, Armada2, StoneJack and 2 others
icolove said:
You do realize China controls Apple's data centers in China? Tim sold out a long time ago. Apple is pretty much a Chinese company
Click to expand...
You do realize the article said that the very reason Huawei is outselling Apple is because of "patriotic fervor" around Huawei's latest products?

You may think of the iPhone as Chinese (lol), but the Chinese people certainly don't seem to.
 
  • Like
  • Haha
  • Love
Reactions: Miicat_47, GlassFingers, TheDemogordon and 21 others
icolove said:
I think you're one of those kids that thinks you have "privacy" with your iPhone.

I love it.
Click to expand...

Nice straw man you set up there, buddy.

Did I say any of those things? Can you find a single post I've ever written here or elsewhere where I say that?

Nope, because I've never written such a thing.

You just made it up and then pretended it was true so you could feel like you "won" the argument
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: gusmula, Tim Apple’s Glasses, grover5 and 15 others
wanha said:
You do realize the article said that the very reason Huawei is outselling Apple is because of "patriotic fervor" around Huawei's latest products?
Click to expand...

The 'patriotic fervor' line is pretty weak. It's about as weak of a take as the 'Apple is a Chinese company' line. They're both kind of dumb takes on what is really going on. Chinese people don't care for Chinese made products any more than Americans care about American made products. They prize foreign, particularly European, products much more highly, but Apple is seen as a luxury product in China.

Apple's sales are slowing because they've priced themselves out of the market. The Chinese economy is slowing - they're headed for their own real estate bubble burst - like the US had in 2008. People are tightening their belts and Apple is selling mid-tier hardware at premium prices. Their phones are more expensive and less impressive than they've ever been. Ordinary people in China are tightening their belts too and just can't afford Apple products anymore.

Huawei have got a good product offering for a much lower price, and they have the ability to get the phones into the hands of Chinese celebrities to promote it much more easily, plus Harmony OS doesn't have the same security restrictions as iOS, so they can pre-load and better integrate a lot of the apps that are popular in China.

The Chinese govt banning iPhones from govt agencies and companies is more to do with Apple helping TSMC move manufacturing out of Taiwan, and to expand product assembly to other countries like India. It's not because the Chinese are being patriotic, the Chinese government are punishing Apple, the same way they tried to punish Australia by banning coal and barley. In China, business is politics.
 
  • Like
  • Sad
  • Love
Reactions: gusmula, just1ed, FernMam and 18 others
For years, under Cook, Apple products needed to be just good enough, nothing more. Lack of innovation and barely noticeable changes in both hardware and software over the years were left up to Marketing to amplify and spin. This is the result of Cook’s priorities and they’re finally starting to bite. Frankly, I’m surprised it took this long, but the competition hasn’t been compelling either.

I expect iPhone sales to decline in Europe as well due to massive price hikes and non-dependency on iMessage.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
  • Sad
  • Haha
Reactions: Tim Apple’s Glasses, Miicat_47, Markwebbvt and 9 others
Good. Huawei have been making brilliant phones for years and if they still had a a large western presence would be bigger than Samsung. Anything that puts Apple on the back foot will push their creativity which we all benefit from.
 
  • Like
  • Love
Reactions: just1ed, whatgift, RevTEG and 4 others
icolove said:
I think you're one of those kids that thinks you have "privacy" with your iPhone.

I love it.
Click to expand...

You didn’t answer his question. You claim “Apple is a Chinese company.” He asked..

wanha said:
Are there large tech companies that aren't Chinese by your definition?
Click to expand...

What’s your answer to that question? And clarify your definition… because on the face of it it seems to be it’s a Chinese company if it has elements of manufacturing or logistics support there, regardless of what else it has elsewhere in the world.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Yujenisis, KeithBN and wanha
Pitogyro said:
For years, under Cook, Apple products needed to be just good enough, nothing more. Lack of innovation and barely noticeable changes in both hardware and software over the years were left up to Marketing to amplify and spin. This is the result of Cook’s priorities and they’re finally starting to bite. Frankly, I’m surprised it took this long, but the competition hasn’t been compelling either.

I expect iPhone sales to decline in Europe as well due to massive price hikes and non-dependency on iMessage.
Click to expand...
I’m tired of this ‘lack of innovation under Tim Apple’ trope. Mobile phones have plateaued, just like laptops. There is not much to be innovated. Flip phones are a new form factor that might catch on, or fade away. Samsung and the like experiment with new form factors in public, Apple in their secret labs, but they are clearly still in the experimental phase. The more mature a product, the harder it is to innovate.

As for losing market share: smart phones are good across the board and Apple does seem to price themselves out of the market. I personally wouldn’t mind them having to focus harder on high end features and dropping the mid-tier market but then again, I don’t run a trillion dollar company😅
 
  • Like
Reactions: Kengineer, Yujenisis, MLVC and 1 other person
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back