Apple loses top 5 spot in Chinese smartphone market as domestic brands dominate

Apple was pushed out of the list of the highest five smartphone vendors in China within the second quarter as competition from domestic brands comparable to Huawei increases, in response to a Canalys report.

Apple's market share in China shrank to 14% within the second quarter, in response to the report released on Thursday. 15% in the primary quarter And 16% in the identical period a 12 months ago.

The iPhone manufacturer, which was the third largest smartphone provider within the second quarter of last 12 months fell to sixth place According to CNBC calculations, about 9.7 million shipments were delivered.

“This is the first quarter in history where domestic providers dominate all five top positions,” said Lucas Zhong, research analyst at Canalys.

Apple's shipments are declining because the first quarter, once they fell 25% year-on-year to 10 million units.

“Chinese vendors' strategies for high-end products and their close collaboration with local supply chains are starting to pay off in hardware and software features. Honor's latest Magic V3, which leverages GenAI, has significantly improved the user experience of foldable devices,” Zhong added.

On the opposite hand, Apple is facing a “bottleneck” within the Chinese market as the corporate tries to “stabilize retail prices and protect distributor margins,” he said.

Localizing Apple Intelligence services in China can be a vital step over the subsequent 12 months, Canalys said, as Chinese brands integrate generative AI into their products on a big scale.

From April to June, Vivo regained the highest spot with 19% market share and 13.1 million units shipped – driven by strong offline and online sales through the “618” e-commerce festival.

Oppo maintained second place with 11.3 million units, boosted by the launch of its latest Reno 12 series. Huawei spinoff Honor took third place with 10.7 million units shipped, a 4% year-on-year increase.

Huawei got here in fourth with a 15 percent market share and 10.6 million units shipped – a 12 months earlier, the corporate had not made it into the highest five. Huawei's consumer business in China experienced a boom after the launch of the Mate 60 smartphone.

According to Canalys, Xiaomi took fifth place because of the keenness for its first electric automotive, the SU7, which also contributed to solid sales of its K70 and its flagship, the 14 Series.

Overall, the Chinese smartphone market grew 10% within the second quarter in comparison with the identical period last 12 months, with greater than 70 million devices shipped, Canalys said.