iPhone, Once Dominating the Used Smartphone Market, Sees Sharp Decline in Market Share

The local market share of Apple iPhone, which once dominated the high-end smartphone market in China, has sharply declined. Local media reported that this is due to strong sales of Chinese companies' products such as Huawei's Mate60 series.

On the 12th, China Observer Network cited data from market research firm BCI, reporting that in the Chinese high-end smartphone market priced above 4000 yuan (approximately 730,000 KRW), the iPhone's market share in November was 50.8%. This represents a 21.2% decrease compared to the same period last year. Observer Network diagnosed that "Apple's struggles in the premium market are due to weak innovation and also being 'jointly attacked' by domestic brands."

The prosecution has launched an investigation into Apple on suspicion of overcharging thousands of billions of won in in-app payment fees from domestic application developers. The photo shows the Apple Store Gangnam in Seoul on the 18th. Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

In November, Huawei held a 22.3% market share in the Chinese high-end smartphone market, ranking second after Apple. This is an 8.8% increase compared to last year. Xiaomi is following behind Apple and Huawei. According to BCI data, Xiaomi recorded a 14.4% market share in the high-end smartphone market in November, an 11.8% increase year-on-year.

According to another market research firm, Canalys, as of the end of September, shipments of the Huawei Mate60 series reached 2.4 million units, while iPhone 15 shipments reached 3.3 million units. Canalys explained, "It is becoming difficult to distinguish superiority between Huawei and Apple in the Chinese premium market."

The popularity of foldable phones is also cited as a factor in Apple's poor performance. According to market research firm CINNO Research, sales of foldable phones in China reached 1.98 million units in the third quarter, a 175% surge compared to the previous year. Observer Network also reported that sales have shown year-on-year growth for 12 consecutive quarters.

Huawei leads the foldable phone market with a 28.6% share, followed by Honor (15.7%) and Vivo (15.4%). Samsung, which was previously a leader in the foldable phone market, ranked fourth (13.9%), and Oppo ranked fifth (11.7%). Observer Network forecasted, "As domestic brands show differentiated advantages in the foldable market, the market shares of Apple and Samsung will be pushed down."

According to BCI, the activation volume of new smartphone products in the entire Chinese market in November was 28.71 million units, a 12.7% increase compared to the previous year. Among them, the iPhone recorded 6.044 million units with a 21.1% market share. Xiaomi recorded 5.243 million units with an 18.3% share, Honor recorded 4.031 million units with a 14.04% share, and Huawei followed with 4.014 million units (14.0%).