During China’s recent Singles Day shopping festival, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) experienced a decline in smartphone sales, trailing behind domestic competitors Huawei and Xiaomi, according to data from Counterpoint Research. The two-week sales period from Oct. 30 to Nov. 12 saw Apple’s smartphone sales drop by 4% year-on-year, contrasting with Huawei’s impressive 66% increase and Xiaomi’s 28% growth over the same period.
The combined performance of Huawei and Xiaomi contributed to a 5% year-over-year rise in the overall number of Chinese smartphones sold during the promotional period, as reported by the research consultancy.
Apple’s latest iPhone 15, priced starting at 5,999 yuan ($832), faced stiff competition from Huawei’s Mate 60, starting at 5,499 yuan ($763), and Xiaomi’s Mi 14, priced at 3,999 yuan ($555). Both Huawei and Apple did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
China’s major e-commerce platforms, Alibaba and JD.com, opted not to release sales figures for the Singles Day festival. JD.com, however, mentioned that the transaction volume of Apple products on its platform exceeded 10 billion yuan ($1.39 billion) during the period.
While the Chinese smartphone market is anticipated to rebound, with analysts predicting year-on-year growth in the fourth quarter after ten consecutive quarters of declining shipments, Apple faced challenges. Intense competition and significant discounts offered by Chinese e-commerce platforms on Apple’s iPhones during the sales period were notable factors.
Apple’s iPhone 15 series, released in late September, faced competition from Huawei’s Mate 60, launched a month earlier with significant patriotic support in China. Xiaomi’s Mi 14 series, launched in late October, achieved over 1 million units in sales shortly after its release.
Counterpoint analysts attributed Apple’s comparatively sluggish performance to supply chain issues affecting the availability of its new iPhone 15 models. Despite improvements compared to the previous month, Ivan Lam, senior analyst for manufacturing at Counterpoint, anticipates a normalization of the situation soon.
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