Apple's China challenge deepens as foreign phone sales slump

Shipments to China of foreign-branded smartphones, including Apple Inc's iPhone, fell by 47.4% in November from a year earlier, according to data released on Friday from a government-affiliated research firm.

Calculations based on the data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) showed that foreign brand shipments decreased to 3.04 million units from 5.769 million units a year earlier.

The decline follows October's 44.25% year-on-year drop in foreign smartphone shipments, extending a sharp downward trend in the world's largest smartphone market.

Apple, the dominant foreign smartphone maker in China, faces a slowing economy and surging competition from domestic rivals like Huawei.

Chinese consumer prices fell in November to their lowest in five months, as economic uncertainty and deflation concerns weigh on household spending.

As its market share declines, Apple launched a rare four-day promotion in China on Thursday, cutting prices by up to 500 yuan ($68.50) on its flagship models to boost sales.

Huawei has emerged as a particularly strong challenger since its return to the premium segment in August 2023 with locally-made chipsets.

Apple briefly fell out of China's top five smartphone vendors in the second quarter of 2024 before recovering in the third quarter. The U.S. company's smartphone sales in China still slipped 0.3% during the third quarter from a year earlier, while Huawei's sales surged 42%, according to research firm IDC.

Shipments of phones within China, which include domestic brands, fell 5.1% year-on-year in November to 29.61 million handsets.