APPLE’S iPhone shipments in China rose 40 per cent in May, off the previous month’s pace of growth despite heavy discounting by major retailers in the weeks leading up to the country’s June shopping festival.
Smartphone shipments climbed more than 13 per cent but foreign brands – of which Apple comprises the vast majority – grew almost four times faster, according to Bloomberg News calculations off official data. Foreign smartphones accounted for just over five million units of the total, the latest figures from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology showed.
IPhone shipments began bouncing back around March, and leapt more than 50 per cent in April. That is partly because Apple and its Chinese resellers have been cutting prices since the start of 2024, in deals extending into the pivotal Jun 18 shopping festival. Before that, Apple had endured double-digit declines in sales after losing market share to Huawei Technologies.
The Chinese company is closing in on a billion active consumer devices running its in-house operating system, underscoring how the US-sanctioned firm is taking the battle to Apple in the premium segment. BLOOMBERG
