The misfortune of one person makes the happiness of others. In its native country, Huawei is regaining its colors against Apple which no longer knows what to do to establish itself in this crucial market.
Some predicted it, but Apple seems to be hitting the bottom sooner than expected. In China, a market which still represents 30% of the manufacturer’s annual turnover, the Apple brand’s phones are selling less and less well, while the figures for its competitor Huawei are picking up.
Huawei is nibbling market share
As noted by the Counterpoint research institute, at the start of 2024, Apple saw its market share fall from 19 to 16% with a sales volume down 24% compared to the same period of the year. last. During this time, Huawei made a stratospheric jump of 64% in its sales volumes, to establish itself at 17% market share, just ahead of the American manufacturer.
The trend is not new, but it is the first time in a long time that the former global mobile star has made such a comeback, stealing the iPhone manufacturer’s place in its native country. To counter the Chinese government’s protectionist policies, Apple even tried to lower the price of these iPhones, but to no avail, the underlying trend seems to be in favor of local manufacturers.
Chinese manufacturers take everything
This phenomenon is all the more surprising since Huawei’s latest star mobile is not technically exceptional. The Mate 60 Pro has a chip engraved in 7 Nm when most of the major mobile manufacturers (including Apple) have moved to 3 Nm. The fault is the American embargo which prevents Huawei from taking advantage of the latest innovations from ARM and TSMC in the domain.
Consumers’ appetite for folding mobiles, fierce competition from Oppo, Xiaomi, Honor and other manufacturers, as well as Apple’s delay in generative artificial intelligence technologies, greatly complicates the task for the mobile phone manufacturer. iPhone.
At the start of 2024, it is therefore Vivo which is doing the best with 18% of the market share in China. Apple is still on the third step of the podium, but the general dynamic does not seem to be in its favor and if the manufacturer wants to continue to establish itself in the country it will have to be inventive until the release of the next iPhone in September 2024.
Source : Counterpoint
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