Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) lost more ground in the Chinese smartphone market in the quarter to June, knocking it out of the top five.
iPhone shipments in China declined by 3.1% in the June quarter, as local competitors like Huawei Technologies Co. surged ahead.
With an 11% year-on-year rise in Android-powered device shipments, Apple has now been pushed out of the top five smartphone makers in the country for the first time in four years, according to market tracker IDC.
Retailers and Apple itself have resorted to deep discounts to sustain sales.
Meanwhile, Huawei led a resurgence in Android alternatives, with its shipments improving by 50%, which contributed to Apple falling to sixth place in the market.
"We did see a YoY growth in the April-to-May shipments, particularly April, to prepare for the 618 shopping festival. Nevertheless, the offline channel partners, which were more reluctant to burn marketing money, slowed down the pace in the last month of 2Q24 to ensure profitability," said IDC analyst Will Wong.