Apple iPhone sales plunge 24% in China as Huawei smartphone business resurges, report says

The analyst firm said in a note on Tuesday that iPhone sales plunged 24% in the period, as Apple faced stiff competition from local smartphone firms like Huawei, Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi.

Apple shares were down over 2% in U.S. premarket trading.

Apple came under particular pressure from Chinese tech giant Huawei, whose consumer business is experiencing a resurgence in China after the launch of its Mate 60 smartphone.

Oppo's smartphone shipments dropped 29% year-on-year, while Vivo and Xiaomi logged drops of 15% and 7%, respectively, according to Counterpoint Research.

Huawei smartphone unit shipments rose 64% year-over-year in the first six weeks of 2024, according to Counterpoint Research. Shipments of Honor handsets, meanwhile, added 2%.

Apple is facing a tough environment in its key market, China. Several notable trends are adding pressure, not least of which is intense competition from local Chinese smartphone makers — including a resurging Huawei.

Last year, Huawei launched a smartphone called the Mate 60, which had 5G connectivity. That was a major surprise to the world, as the U.S. government hit Huawei with numerous sanctions in 2019 and 2020, cutting it off from key chips and technology required for 5G mobile internet. $Apple(AAPL.US)$