Mobiles

Apple’s iPhone sales in China jump 52% in April, data shows

Published

3 weeks ago

May 28, 2024

By Reuters | Updated: May 28, 2024

BEIJING, May 28 (Reuters) – Apple’s (AAPL.O) smartphone shipments in China rose 52% in April from a year ago, extending a rebound seen in March, according to data from a research firm affiliated the Chinese government.

The jump follows a weak performance by the U.S. tech giant in the world’s biggest smartphone market earlier this year amid intensifying competition in the high-end smartphone category from local rivals like Huawei (HWT.UL).

Shipments of foreign-branded phones in China increased by 52% in April to 3.495 million units from 2.301 million a year earlier, data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed on Tuesday.

Apple’s shares rose 2.3% in premarket trading.

Although the data did not explicitly mention Apple, the company is the dominant foreign phone maker in China’s smartphone market. This suggests that the increase in foreign-branded shipments can be attributed to Apple’s performance.

Apple’s shipments in China increased by 12% in March, marking a significant improvement from the first two months of 2024, when the company experienced a 37% slump in sales.

Sales may see a further boost in May as Apple launched an aggressive discounting campaign this month on its official Tmall site in China, offering discounts of up to 2,300 yuan ($318) on select iPhone models.

Earlier this month, Apple CEO Tim Cook forecast iPhone sales growth in some markets, including China, after the company reported an 8.1% drop in second-quarter revenue from the Greater China region.

The price reduction, double the size of a discount it offered in February, comes after Huawei introduced last month its new series of high-end smartphones, the Pura 70, following the launch of the Mate 60 last August.

Huawei overtook Apple in the first quarter as the No. 2 smartphone vendor in China and is ramping up its retail strategy by opening more flagship stores and adding more retail distributors. Huawei spinoff Honor holds the top spot.