According to research firm Counterpoint, iPhone sales in China dropped 24% in the first six weeks of 2024 compared to a year earlier.
Analysts from Counterpoint Research said the overall Chinese mobile market shrank by 7%, with companies including Apple, Oppo, and Vivo experiencing declines.
Apple's iPhone Sales Fall in China
According to reports, the US technology giant faces severe competition from local rivals in the country. China's Huawei witnessed a 64% increase in sales in its home market during the same period.
Mengmeng Zhang of Counterpoint Research said that Apple was squeezed in the middle on aggressive pricing from Oppo, Vivo, and Xiaomi and a rebound in Huawei sales at the more expensive end of the Chinese phone market.
Huawei suffered for years due to US sanctions until it saw a sales spike in August after launching the Mate 60 series of 5G smartphones. It was a huge surprise as the Chinese firm lacked access to key chips and technologies for 5G mobile internet.
The survey claimed that Honor, a smartphone brand spun off from Huawei in 2020, was the only top-five brand to show a gain in sales in China. Counterpoint said that the sales of Vivo, Xiaomi, and Oppo also dropped in the first six weeks of the year.
Furthermore, Apple's share of the Chinese smartphone market declined from 19% to 15.7% last year, placing it in fourth place as it fell from the number two spot.
Meanwhile, Huawei moved to second place with a 16.5% market share from 9.4% a year earlier. Counterpoint said that Vivo remained China's best-selling smartphone manufacturer even though its sales had decreased by 15% last year.
Last month, Apple began to provide discounts on its official websites in China before subsidizing some iPhone models through its flagship stores on Alibaba's Tmall marketplace the previous week.
Apple's sales, which disappointed investors when the company released its profits last month, could be impacted by a decline in demand in China. The firm noted that sales in China dropped from $23.9 billion to $20.82 billion in the last three months of 2023. On Tuesday, Apple shares fell by 2.8% in New York trade.
Apple Unveils Transcripts for Apple Podcasts
Apple has introduced the Transcripts for Apple Podcasts app, a cutting-edge tool that improves accessibility and user experience. Users can use Transcripts to read an episode's full text, search for particular words or phrases, and tap on the text to play the podcast from that point.
Each word will be highlighted as an episode plays to make it easier for users to understand and follow along.
Sarah Herrlinger, Apple's senior director of Global Accessibility Policy and Initiatives, claimed that Transcripts enhances the podcast experience and highlights the company's commitment to accessibility.
Transcripts provide even more value to the podcast experience by helping listeners understand unfamiliar languages, locate information quickly, and pay attention to every word. Transcripts' typeface and color contrast are designed to enhance readability, especially for lengthy texts.
Furthermore, those who are deaf can still use the feature without playing the episode. Transcripts are initially accessible for English, French, Spanish, and German podcasts on iPhone and iPad with iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4, respectively.
