Apple Faces Tough Competition in China’s Thriving Smartphone Market

By Douglas A. McIntyre Updated Sep 25, 6:20AM EDT · Published Sep 23, 10:31AM EDT

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Apple Faces Tough Competition in China’s Thriving Smartphone Market — © Stockfoo / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

Multiple reports indicate strong sales of the new Apple iPhone 15 in China, a significant market for both Apple and the global smartphone industry. Nevertheless, forecasts suggest that Apple may experience a decline in market share within China this year.

Sales of the Apple iPhone 15 in China were notably facilitated by platforms like JD and Dada, with a notable surge in sales via Dada’s one-hour delivery app, up by an impressive 253% compared to the iPhone 14 from the previous year.

In the Chinese market, Apple faces formidable competition, particularly from local giant Huawei and its Mate 60 Pro. Huawei boasts connection speeds nearly on par with 5G smartphones, the global benchmark for mobile devices.

Can Apple keep such a strong pace in sales compared to its competitors? CNBC expects Apple’s share to drop 4% in China in the fourth quarter. The iPhone 15’s sales will not be able to keep pace compared to the aggregate sales of its competitors.
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Apple’s performance in China holds significant implications for the company’s overall financial health. In the most recent quarter, Apple reported revenue of $81.8 billion, with iPhone sales accounting for $39.7 billion, marking a slight decrease from the previous year’s $40.7 billion. While some attribute this dip to Apple’s continued sale of the iPhone 14 during the reporting period, other factors may be at play.
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Apple faces strong competition not only from Huawei but also from global rival Samsung, which often leads in global smartphone market share. The introduction of the new Samsung Galaxy Z Fold5 may pose a formidable challenge to the iPhone 15 in certain markets. Additionally, within China, local players like OPPO and vivo further intensify the competitive landscape.

The iPhone’s success is not guaranteed.

About the Author Douglas A. McIntyre →

Douglas A. McIntyre is the co-founder, chief executive officer and editor in chief of 24/7 Wall St. and 24/7 Tempo. He has held these jobs since 2006.

McIntyre has written thousands of articles for 24/7 Wall St. He is an expert on corporate finance, the automotive industry, media companies and international finance. He has edited articles on national demographics, sports, personal income and travel.

His work has been quoted or mentioned in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, NBC News, Time, The New Yorker, HuffPost USA Today, Business Insider, Yahoo, AOL, MarketWatch, The Atlantic, Bloomberg, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Forbes, The Guardian and many other major publications. McIntyre has been a guest on CNBC, the BBC and television and radio stations across the country.

A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College, McIntyre also was president of The Harvard Advocate. Founded in 1866, the Advocate is the oldest college publication in the United States.

TheStreet.com, Comps.com and Edgar Online are some of the public companies for which McIntyre served on the board of directors. He was a Vicinity Corporation board member when the company was sold to Microsoft in 2002. He served on the audit committees of some of these companies.

McIntyre has been the CEO of FutureSource, a provider of trading terminals and news to commodities and futures traders. He was president of Switchboard, the online phone directory company. He served as chairman and CEO of On2 Technologies, the video compression company that provided video compression software for Adobe’s Flash. Google bought On2 in 2009.