Beijing customers eagerly awaited the launch of Huawei’s Pura 70 series smartphones on April 18, 2024. The excitement was palpable as Huawei, a Shenzhen-based company, made a roaring comeback in China and was getting closer to overtaking Apple in the world’s largest smartphone market.
According to Counterpoint Research, Huawei saw a remarkable 70% surge in smartphone sales in China in the first quarter, while Apple experienced a decline of more than 19%. Ivan Lam, a senior research analyst at Counterpoint, highlighted that Apple’s sales were subdued due to Huawei’s resurgence impacting the premium segment.
Huawei had led China’s smartphone market with nearly 20% share last year but has now slipped to the third spot in the first quarter of this year with a market share of 15.7%. On the other hand, Huawei’s market share has spiked to 15.5% from 9.3% in the previous year.
Huawei created a buzz with its Mate 60 Pro smartphone last year when the US government sought more information about its advanced processor. This raised eyebrows among industry experts due to the restrictions imposed by the US to limit China’s access to foreign chip technology due to national security concerns.
Recent data from IDC indicated that Apple’s global smartphone sales had plummeted by 10% in the first quarter, largely due to waning momentum in China. With Chinese consumers increasingly turning to local brands over foreign ones like Vivo and Honor, Apple is facing challenges maintaining its foothold in this competitive landscape.
Despite overall smartphone sales growth of only 1.5% in China during the first quarter, these figures reflect both Huawei’s resurgence and Apple’s struggles to maintain its dominant position in this highly competitive market.