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Apple received a much-needed boost to its flagging iPhone sales in the Chinese market in March, fueled by rare discounts.
Data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, a government-linked research firm, showed that iPhone sales grew 12% in March. Overall shipments of non-Chinese smartphones climbed to 3.75 million units year-over-year. That’s a 37% increase from the first two months of 2024, according to Bloomberg, which first reported the data.
Apple has been struggling to compete with rivals like Huawei Technologies, Oppo, and Xiaomi, among other local firms. Huawei, especially, has seen a resurgence after releasing its latest smartphone series, the Mate 60 Pro, which helped its profits double in 2023.Plus, Chinese state agencies and firms backed by Beijing have been ordered to ditch iPhones at work and rely on locally-made products.
Cupertino, California-based Apple sold just 50.1 million iPhones in China between January and March, an almost 10% decrease from the same time in 2023, according to the International Data Corporation. Data from the China Academy showed that foreign shipments of smartphones were down 27% during the first quarter of 2024.
In January, Apple began offering discounts of up to 500 yuan ($70) on its iPhones in China — Apple’s first price cut on new models in years. A month later, Apple resellers slashed the price of iPhone 15 models by as much as $180.
Last week, despite its flagging sales, Apple surprised investors by beating analysts’ expectations for revenue generated in the greater China region. The company made $16.4 billion, down from $17.8 billion year-over-year, but more than the $15.3 billion expected.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said last week that iPhone revenue in mainland China grew “on a reported basis” and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to the market. Cook visited Shanghai earlier this year to mark the opening of Apple’s 47th store in China.
Cook has also visited Vietnam to announce more spending on Apple’s Vietnamese suppliers and met with Indonesian President Joko Widodo to discuss manufacturing in the country. Despite Apple’s investment in China, it’s looking to expand manufacturing elsewhere after a violent workers’ revolt at its largest iPhone factory in China in 2022 cost it an estimated $1 billion per week.