iPhone 13 carries Apple in China, now number 1 in smartphone sales

In the last quarter, Apple became the brand of smartphones
the most popular in China, capturing a record market share.

Apple can boast of now being number one in China. For the first time since the end of 2015, the Apple firm has managed to sell more smartphones than any other manufacturer in the Middle Kingdom. Apple’s market share, which exceeds Vivo, reached 23% locally in the fourth quarter of 2021, the specialist firm tells us. Counterpoint Research.

In China, iPhones are now the best-selling

Six years after the advent of the iPhone 6, Apple seems to have benefited from a drop in smartphone sales in China (-9% in the fourth quarter, -2% in 2021) and the saving marketing of the iPhone 13 , among other contextual elements, to take the number one spot in sales in the country.

In the fourth quarter, Apple’s smartphone market share reached 23% in China. It was only 16% a year earlier, ie a growth of 32% between the two periods. The Cupertino company has managed the feat of overtaking vivo, whose market share is still growing over one year, from 18 to 19%, and which is number one in China for the whole year. this time we will talk about it again. OPPO (17%), Honor (15%) and Xiaomi (13%) follow.

In reality, Apple picked up the torch at the right time. First we said it, and Counterpoint Research points out, smartphone sales in China were down 2% in 2021, compared to 2020, and the numbers plunged further in the fourth quarter (-9%). Then, the shortage of components obviously has an impact on the market, shipments being disrupted. In China, there is also an increase in the lifespan of mobile phones, and competition has seriously intensified, in particular due to the decline of Huawei.

Vivo, number one in China for the whole of 2021, marked by the brutal fall of Huawei

In addition to Apple and its historic performance, it is above all the little one that has become big, vivo, which has done well. Cousin of OPPO, OnePlus and Realme (all subsidiaries of the BBK Electronics group), the manufacturer has benefited from the enthusiasm, in China, for the X70 and S series to take the place of sales leader in 2021, with 22% market share, compared to 17% in 2020.

Vivo is ahead of its sister company, OPPO, which, aided by the Ren 7 series, is in close proximity to vivo (21% market share in 2021, 16% in 2020). Apple is third, with 16% market share (against 11% the previous year) by signing the most beautiful annual growth (+ 47%) of all the biggest sellers in the Middle Kingdom, while Xiaomi is progressing strongly also, from 10% in 2020 to 15% in 2021.

Huawei, amputated by American sanctions even in its own country, is experiencing a brutal decline. The Shenzhen firm, still a large leader in 2020 with 31% market share, plunged 68%, to reach a market share of 10%, on par with its former subsidiary Honor (also 10%). Note that Honor, which has renewed ties with suppliers, picked up the slack in the second half of 2021, with a last quarter lived in the shoes of the Chinese number three.

Also worth noting: Realme is the fastest growing brand, growing from 1% market share in 2020 to 3% at the end of 2021.

Source: Counterpoint Research