Apple is apparently moving further and further away from its old days. According to recent reports, the tech giant's iPhone sales in China dropped radically in the first two months of the year.
Apple seems to have a tough period ahead of it. Aside from the company falling behind in the field of artificial intelligence, iPhone sales do not look very bright, at least in China. While reports say that iPhone sales in China have dropped radically, it is stated that things are not very good in some other countries. However, Apple is reported to have experienced a 33 per cent drop in iPhone sales in China in February, according to official data. China is the second most critical market for Apple.
Apple's sales in China plummeted
According to Chinese data, total shipments of foreign brands totalled only 2.4 million units in February. Since Apple is the only overseas brand with a meaningful market share, a very large portion of these shipments belong to it. However, the 33 per cent drop in sales in February means the second consecutive decline. According to figures from the Chinese Academy of Information and Communication Technology, Apple shipped a total of about 5.5 million phones in the first month of the year, or about 39 per cent less than a year earlier.
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Apple's decline in the world's largest smartphone market is not only due to itself and its products. As it will be remembered, Huawei made a strong return to the premium segment with the Mate 60 and Mate 60 Pro models, taking advantage of the growing nationalism in China and the growing US reaction. So much so that Huawei gained a significant amount of share in China and Apple was forced to make a rare discount in January.
Analysts say Apple is trying to digest strong shipments in China in the fourth quarter of 2023, and this is one reason for the decline. In addition, it is stated that the slowdown trend in iPhone sales may continue in the coming months. On the other hand, the overall Chinese smartphone market also contracted by a third in February. Analysts expect the Chinese smartphone market to continue its growth trend throughout the year. This growth is expected to be based on the introduction of aggressive artificial intelligence features, which Apple is not expected to respond to until iOS 18.
