Yet another report says that Apple faces a serious iPhone slump in China after official state data revealed its shipments had fallen by one-third in February compared to a year ago.
A Counterpoint report earlier in March claimed Apple’s iPhone sales had fallen 24% in the first six weeks of the year compared to the same period last year, and Tim Cook recently visited the country to help buoy sales. Now official state data reiterates Apple’s struggles in the region.
SCMP reports that “Apple’s iPhone shipments in China fell by about one-third in February from a year ago, according to official state data released Tuesday,” a sign that “the US tech giant is losing ground to Chinese smartphone brands in the world’s second-largest economy.”
Apple’s China woes
SCMP says Apple continues to face “regulatory and competitive headwinds,” citing anecdotal reports of an iPhone ban among Chinese government agencies and other offices. According to the report, foreign brands shipped 2.4 million smartphones in February, 16.9% of the total market. The report continues, “Given that Apple is the most significant foreign player in the country, it translates into a drop of about one-third from the prior month.”
The report cites further figures from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a state-backed think tank, that show Apple shipped 5.5 million units in January, down nearly 40% year on year.
Apple recently announced its WWDC 2024 conference will be held June 10-14. Apple is expected to unveil iOS 18 with significant AI upgrades to boost its best iPhones ahead of the iPhone 16 reveal in September, a combination it will be hoping can stimulate iPhone sales in China.
The NYT reported this week that in China “ evidence is mounting that… the iPhone no longer holds the appeal it used to.” One expert said the biggest reason for the slump was tensions between the U.S. and China, with debates raging online as to whether using an iPhone “is disrespectful to Chinese tech companies or akin to handing personal data over to the U.S. government.” According to Wedbush Securities’ Dan Ives, 125 million out of the 215 million iPhone users in China have not upgraded their devices in the last three years.
Not banking solely on the iPhone, Tim Cook confirmed to state media this week that Apple Vision Pro would launch in the country this year.
