Data from research company IDC shows Apple (AAPL, Financials) returned in the top five smartphone businesses by market share in China during the third quarter of 2024. The introduction of the iPhone 16 series allowed the American tech behemoth stay competitive in the Chinese market despite a year-over-year drop in sales, hence sparking this comeback.Apple’s Q3 shipments, meanwhile, down 0.3% from last year’s comparable level. Domestic competitor Huawei, however, had a big recovery after many difficult years because to U.S. sanctions and supply chain restrictions. Its sales surged by 42% year over year. The successful introduction of creative products by Huawei, like the Mate XT, the first tri-foldable phone projected to boost the foldable market, has helped the business to develop.With 68.8 million units in the third quarter, China’s total smartphone shipments increased 3.2% year-over-year, signifying the fourth consecutive quarter of increase. Sustained pent-up demand for gadget upgradesespecially when producers add innovative technology and features to attract consumershas driven this expansion.With an 18.6% shareup from 15.8% in the same time a year agoVivo maintained its leadership in the Chinese smartphone market thanks to its excellent product positioning across both its main and sub-brands. Vivo confirmed its supremacy with a noteworthy 21.5% year-over-year increase.At 15.6%, Apple’s second-largest share in the Chinese market dropped somewhat from 16.1% in the third quarter of 2023. Closely behind was Huawei, which raised its market share from 11.1% to 15.3%, from year before. Strong customer demand for Huawei’s premium productsespecially in the foldable phone categoryhas helped the company’s comeback in the Chinese market.With a 14.8% market share, Xiaomi (XIACF, Financials) kept on its upward path and reached its sixth straight quarter of expansion. The company’s success has come from a double concentration on high-end gadget offers and budget-conscious clients. Particularly in the premium market, Xiaomi’s stated development of a 3 nm mobile system-on- a-chip has strengthened its competitive advantage.Honor, which still ranks in the top five, had its market share drop to 21.1%, from 23.9% in Q3 2023. Still, the brand is a major participant in the foldable phone space, where new models like Magic Flip and Magic V3 helped Honor land second in this market.
This article first appeared on GuruFocus.
