- By Mariko Oi
- Business reporter
March 6, 2024, 02:18 GMT
Updated 34 minutes ago
Image source: Getty Images
Sales of Apple's iPhone in China fell 24% in the first six weeks of 2024 compared to a year ago, according to research firm Counterpoint.
This comes as the US tech giant faces stiff competition from local rivals in the country.
During the same period, Chinese company Huawei recorded a 64% increase in sales in its home market, the report said.
Apple and Huawei did not immediately respond to BBC requests for comment.
Aside from a resurgence in Huawei sales at the pricier end of China's phone market, Apple has also been “pushed into the middle due to aggressive pricing from the likes of Oppo, Vivo and Xiaomi,” wrote Counterpoint Research's Mengmeng Zhang.
China, one of Apple's largest markets, also saw a 7% decline in overall smartphone sales over the same period, the report said.
Huawei struggled with US sanctions for years, but sales increased after the release of the Mate 60 series of 5G smartphones in August.
This came as a big surprise as the Chinese company was cut off from key chips and technologies required for 5G mobile internet.
According to the report, Honor, the smartphone brand that was spun off from Huawei in 2020, was the only other top five brand to see an increase in sales in China during the period.
Sales of Vivo, Xiaomi and Oppo also fell in the first six weeks of the year, Counterpoint said.
The report also said that Apple's share of the Chinese smartphone market fell to 15.7% from 19% last year, dropping the company from second place to fourth place.
Meanwhile, Huawei moved into second place as its market share rose to 16.5% from 9.4% a year ago.
Despite a 15% decline in sales last year, Vivo remained China's top-selling smartphone maker, Counterpoint said.
Apple began offering discounts on its official websites in China last month before subsidizing certain iPhone models through its flagship stores on Alibaba's marketplace platform Tmall last week.
The company said sales in China were $20.82 billion (£16.4 billion) in the final three months of 2023, up from $23.9 billion a year earlier.
Apple shares fell 2.8% in New York trading on Tuesday.