iPhone continues to sell like hotcakes in China

Oct 27, 2022 16:06 GMT  ·  By

New data shared by Canalys for China shows that in the third quarter of the year, the smartphone market declined 11 percent year-on-year, with all but one company recording big drops.

And that one company is obviously Apple.

The biggest drop was registered by OPPO, as the company’s sales dropped from 16.5 million units in the third quarter of 2021 to no less than 12 million units this year. This means sales are down 27 percent, with OPPO’s market share also collapsing from 21 percent to 17 percent.

Market leader Vivo continues to be number one in China despite a 23 percent drop. The company managed to sell 14.1 million units in the second quarter, down from 18.3 million units in the same period a year ago.

The only company that defies the market trends is Apple, as its sales jumped from 8.3 million units to 11.3 million units. This represents a 36 percent increase and a market share boost from 11 percent to 16 percent.

“Apple saw remarkable growth in Mainland China in Q3,” said Canalys Analyst Amber Liu.

“Its annual launch is highly anticipated by consumers and channels and strong demand for the iPhone 14 Pro series contributed to Apple’s overall performance. However, lackluster demand of the iPhone 14 series sent a strong signal that even Apple is not completely isolated from weak Mainland China consumer demand. Under an onslaught of Android vendor competition, Apple had to concede to adopt aggressive promotions of its entry-level editions and previous generation devices, especially in the RMB5000-6000 (US$700-800) price band.”

Apple’s market performance is expected to remain strong in the coming months, especially as the iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max are selling like hotcakes. On the other hand, the standard iPhone 14 and the all-new Plus are only recording lackluster sales.