Against the backdrop of the accelerated rise of domestic brands, in the second quarter, Apple fell out of the top 5 in smartphone sales in China for the first time in four years.
According to data released by research firm Canalys on Thursday local time, despite Apple lowering the prices of iPhone models in the second quarter, its market share in China still dropped by 2 percentage points to 14% compared to the same period last year, and also decreased by 1% compared to the first quarter.
Due to increasing competition, the sales of Apple's iPhones in China continued to decline, offsetting the double-digit growth in its services business including the App Store, Apple Pay, and Apple TV+.
Canalys data also shows that the top five smartphone sales in China in the second quarter were all domestic Chinese brands, namely Vivo, Oppo, Honor, Huawei, and Xiaomi. The report pointed out that thanks to the brand marketing effect of the launch of Xiaomi's SU7 car, Xiaomi's smartphones surpassed Apple in the second quarter to become the fifth best-selling brand.
Lucas Zhong, an analyst at the research firm, stated:
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This is the first quarter in history where all top five positions are held by local smartphone manufacturers.
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On the same day, the International Data Corporation (IDC) cited preliminary data indicating that in the second quarter, although the shipment volume of smartphones in China increased by 8.9% year-on-year to 71.6 million units (marking the third consecutive quarter of growth as the market steadily recovers), Apple's shipment volume decreased by 3.1%.
IDC pointed out that Apple's overall market share in China is currently 13.6%, which is still higher than in 2020 when it was 8.3% in the third quarter.
It is worth noting that not only did Apple suffer setbacks in the key Chinese market, but it also fell from grace in the broader global market.
According to media calculations, in the second quarter of last year, Apple was still the third largest smartphone supplier globally, but this year it dropped to sixth place with a shipment volume of around 9.7 million units.
Apple is set to announce its second-quarter financial results next Thursday, with investors closely watching the global sales trends of the iPhone and advancements in AI.
In June of this year, Apple introduced the Apple Intelligence personal intelligence system at its annual developer conference, officially entering the AI era. Cook recently expressed optimism in public about AI driving iPhone sales next year.
Earlier this month, Bank of America reiterated its &#34;buy&#34; rating on Apple, expecting a strong wave of upgrades for iPhones driven by AI

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In the second quarter, domestic brands accounted for the top five in China's smartphone sales, with Xiaomi surpassing Apple to become the fifth in sales. Apple's market share in China is 14%, down 2 percentage points from the same period last year

- In the second quarter, Apple fell out of the top 5 smartphone sales in China for the first time in four years, with local brands dominating the market.
- Despite price cuts, Apple's market share in China dropped by 2% year-on-year to 14%, facing fierce competition leading to a decline in iPhone sales despite growth in services like the App Store and Apple Pay.
- Chinese brands like Vivo, Oppo, Honor, Huawei, and Xiaomi surpassed Apple in smartphone sales, with Xiaomi benefiting from its SU7 car launch marketing, pushing Apple out of the top 5.

For the first time in four years, Apple has dropped out of the top five in China!