Huawei, the U.S. tech giant’s biggest competitor for premium smartphones in China, saw a 64 percent increase in unit sales over the same period, the report said.
This could raise concerns about a slowdown in demand for the US company, whose revenue forecast for the current quarter was $6 billion (about Rs 49.74 billion), below Wall Street expectations.
Shares of the iPhone maker closed down 2.8 percent on Tuesday, and the stock has fallen about 12 percent so far this year, underperforming those of major U.S. technology companies.
According to the Counterpoint report, Apple’s share of the Chinese smartphone market fell to 15.7 percent from 19 percent of the market share in the same period last year, placing it in fourth place.
Huawei achieved second place by increasing its market share to 16.5% from 9.4% in the same period last year. According to this report, the overall Chinese smartphone market declined by 7%.
Mengmeng Zhang, a senior analyst at Counterpoint, said Apple “faces stiff competition at the high end from a resurgent Huawei, while aggressively priced companies like OPPO, Vivo and Xiaomi operate in the midrange,” said.
Last week, Apple began offering subsidies of up to 1,300 yuan ($180.68) on some iPhone models through its flagship store on Tmall, Alibaba’s main marketplace platform.
The company had already offered discounts of up to 500 yuan on the iPhone on its official website last month.
Huawei has been battling US restrictions on exports of key components to the company for years, but sales of its high-end smartphones have increased since the launch of the Mate 60 series in August.
Honor, the brand that split from Huawei in 2020, was the only brand in the top five to report a 2 percent increase in sales in the first six weeks of the year. Chinese brands Vivo, Xiaomi and Oppo fell 15%, 7% and 29%, respectively.
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Udaipur Kiran, his insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.