IDC: As Huawei grew 23% in China, Apple fell 20%

From Reuters’ “Apple iPhone sales in China fell by a fifth in fourth quarter: IDC.”

Apple Inc iPhone sales in China fell 20 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2018, while sales for smartphones made by home-grown rival Huawei soared by 23 percent, data from industry research firm IDC showed on Monday.

The report is the first to put a firm number on the scale of a recent decline in Apple’s fortunes in the world’s second largest economy, after Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook pointed to China as a big factor in a rare cut in the company’s quarterly sales forecast last month.

My take: As long as a smartphone in China is just a vehicle for WeChat, Apple S versions aren’t going to cut it.