Apple Inc's (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) iPhone sales in China fell 18.2% in the December quarter, according to Counterpoint Research, as Huawei overtook it to become the country’s top smartphone brand.
Apple, which had led the market a year earlier, slipped to third place, holding about 16% of sales.
The decline in China contributed to a global 5% drop in iPhone sales during the key shopping season.
Huawei’s resurgence was fuelled by a 15.5% year-on-year increase in sales, driven by its Mate 70 series, featuring HarmonyOS Next and made-in-China chips.
China’s smartphone market overall contracted in the final quarter of 2024, following growth earlier in the year.